Warframe: Balance
by Kalenath Shok-Tan
Summary: This is a follow on to 'Consequences'. Balance is the single most important thing in any martial art. It also applies to many other things. This is a fanfiction, I own none of the rights to Warframe.
1. Chapter 1

**Ashes of Pride**

"How is that?" Alicia asked as she finalized the connections. "Better?"

"I am not sure 'better' is going to be in the cards any time soon, Alicia." Jesse shrugged a little where she lay. But she nodded, it was more comfortable. "We need the scans. I have time. But..." She trailed off as Alicia looked at her.

"But?" The female Tenno medic prompted the young Cyberlancer.

"I don't know." Jesse admitted. "I am feeling weird. Not bad." She hurried to say as Alicia's face turned professionally blank. "Just weird."The other medic in the room also turned, looking worried. "I am okay! I am okay!" Jesse said sharply. "I just...feel off."

"Off _how_?" Mei asked softly, her eyes going to Alicia who nodded and moved to a set of scanners. "We have to be sure you are okay, Jesse. After everything."

Jesse nodded soberly. Mei was still not comfortable here. A few alterations to her face and she was not freaking people out as badly as she had at first. Her skill with medical equipment and her downright focused need to help others were both solid reasons for Karl to invite her to the clan. But it made for some very tense moments. Karen and Miguel both refused to have anything to do with her. If she was on duty, they refused to even enter Medical. If she entered a room when they were there, they never spoke to her. She did not press. She would not.

Cora -the Tenno who Mei had been- had not _personally_ been involved in what had happened to Karen or Miguel. She had been gone before Nicholas had tried to steal the nuclear weapons that Miguel's Marines had died to the last man to keep him from. She had not been involved in what had been done to Karen. She had been gone before the other renegades had brought Karen back with them. But that did not change the fact that she had been a member of Nicholas' clan. A _founding_ member. She had tried to help, tried to fix things. But they had been beyond fixing.

Cora had fled when Karl had called for the clan to surrender. She had gone to Karl who had taken her to the Elders. Jesse didn't know all of the particulars, just that it hadn't ended well when Nicholas' renegades had found her. From what little she knew, she was _glad_ she knew only a little.

The insanity that Jesse had gone through had been bad. From what little she knew about Mei? The older female Tenno's trials had been far, far worse. Even Raven, as badly traumatized as _she_ had been, had been dismayed. At least Raven was finally getting some sleep. The Elder had pushed herself way too far in tending Jesse during her infirmity.

"It's not any of the urges that everyone is so worried I will have." Jesse said after a moment's thought. "It is not physical. Nothing is off in my body that I can detect." Both female medics nodded but the other medic in the room spoke up.

"Can you define the anomaly?" Jesse turned her head to look at the speaker.

A human torso stood up from a tracked assembly that served as his locomotion. She might have been creeped out by the cyborg form. If she couldn't feel the worry that it exuded. Worry for her. Jimmy was... better than he had been. Mei's reaction on seeing him had been heartbreaking. The newest medic for Karl's clan had essentially demanded to help the man since she had saved his life only to have him enslaved by Nicholas like so many others. The renegades had rebuilt Jimmy as a medical robot. A slave in all but name. Jimmy was odd, but he was still partly human and he was slowly relearning what it was to _be_ human.

"I am not sure." Jesse said, thinking hard. "There seems to be no physical component. If I was feeling the need to procreate, there would be _some_ kind of physical component, no?"

"Ah, Jesse..." Alicia was obviously fighting to keep a smile off her face. "I don't know if it is who you _were_ , or what you _are_ , but that sounded _so_ wrong coming from someone who looks so young." Jesse had to smile at the laughter in the medic's voice. But then Alicia sobered. "We are trying not to be overprotective. It wouldn't help."

"I know." Jesse said with a sad smile. "I guess we should start the scan cycle? See if anything can be detected."

"It is going to hurt, Jesse." Alicia said quietly as she checked the fit of the heavy garment that Jesse wore. Said garment was needed to keep the energy from damaging Jesse's body.

The scanner that they were using was an ancient Orokin design. It was incredibly accurate, able to scan down to the genetic level. The downsides were that it used a great deal of power, was difficult to maintain -hence why the clan had let it languish when Cora had been killed- and last but not least, the energy it used caused intensely painful feedback in any life form with a functioning nervous system. With Mei's help, the clan had refurbished it. But Jesse was the first to try it. She had volunteered. She had several reasons.

They needed her medical records as detailed as possible, and despite several people pressing her to, she refused to go to where there was more advanced technology. She was needed _here_. She might not be combat personnel, but she had already managed a significant improvement the clan's one-use Cipher Decoders. To the point that no Grineer or Corpus system could _hope_ to keep them out if the Tenno in question managed direct access. Regular Tenno Cipher Decoders -or Ciphers for short- were good. _Jesse's_ were so good that all it took was _one_ to reset the entire alarm system for an entire ship or base. Olim was impressed and _he_ was hard to impress.

It had been a challenge and she had thrown herself into the challenge wholeheartedly. Part of that was to keep from worrying about her mom. Oracle Janet was recovering. But the damage, both from her previous injuries and from more recent harm, had been extreme. Jesse did not want to think about how close she had come to losing her mom. So, she needed distractions.

Another reason for the scans was that Jesse _was_ different. Her body had been altered in the womb in which it had been grown. Genetic modification was not an exact science even for Tenno at times. The medical expertise that had been focused on Jesse had been unreal, but even then, there _were_ limits.

All that said? She was _not_ looking forward to it.

"I know it will hurt, Alicia." Jesse lay back on the scan surface. It was surprisingly comfortable. "And I will not try to keep from screaming." Alicia nodded as she checked the readouts again. The medic had been downright blunt about that. Trying to keep from screaming _would_ cause her to hurt herself. The scans did not actually do damage, but the _reactions_ to said scans had been known to. "But it needs to be done. We need the scans. And we need the machine tested on someone who is not a Warrior. I will not send out code while it is in operation."

"It shouldn't have any effect." Mei said, a little worried. "But better to be sure."

"Right." Jesse sighed and looked to the final person in the room. "Draco."

"I do not like this." Her bodyguard said with a sigh. "Your arguments were cogent, but I do not like it."

"Well, _I_ do not like it either." Jesse said as she lay back and let Alicia activate the restraints. Those were more for her protection than to keep her in place. Sending energy along a being's nervous system was never safe. It had unpredictable effects at times. "But it needs to be done and I can do it. So please?" She looked at him. Her bodyguard sighed and nodded. "Thank you." Jesse said quietly.

"I am not leaving the room." Draco said in a no nonsense tone and Jesse nodded.

She still had no idea what warframe he wore. She had no idea how he had managed to fight the Lotus to a standstill and _beat_ _her_ , when the other had been half holographic. She could tell he was armed, but not with what. Sometimes it drove her absolutely crazy with curiosity. Sometimes -like now- she was just glad to have him close at hand. He made her feel safe.

"Wouldn't ask you to." Jesse said with a smile that faded as Mei held out a mouth guard. Jesse nodded again and opened wide. Mei slid it in carefully and Jesse clamped down. The older female Tenno frowned slightly.

"Not too tight, Jesse." Mei cautioned and Jesse grunted but relaxed as best she could. "Good girl." Mei smiled and stepped back.

Jesse closed her eyes and waited. She did not have to wait long.

"Powering up." Alicia said quietly. "Remember. Don't fight it. You are not Warrior trained, you won't be able to." Jesse grunted an acknowledgement and focused on relaxing her body as Trinity had taught her. It was hard. She knew what was...

She jerked as power flared around her. She closed her eyes, waiting for the pain. But... it never came. She jerked again and Alicia spoke sharply.

"Don't _fight_ it, Jesse!" The healer said with a half snarl. "It _will_ hurt you. Ride it. Let it flow around and through you." Jesse grunted in confusion and Alicia stared at her.

 _Doesn't hurt._ Jesse said across the odd mental wavelength that all Tenno shared. _Shouldn't it hurt?_

"Ah... Mei?" Alicia turned to the other female medic who was staring at Jesse in shock. "Power readings are consistent. Is it scanning?"

"It _is_ scanning..." Mei said weakly, staring at her own controls. "Scan is processing. Maybe... your code...?" She asked Jesse who shook her head a little.

 _No code._ Jesse said, confused. _No nothing._

"Okay." Mei swallowed hard. "This is odd. We need to be very careful, but we cannot stop the scan. Nineteen minutes, twelve seconds now. If it starts to hurt, let us know."

 _Oh you will know._ Jesse promised. _I haven't had the practice of ignoring pain that you Warriors get._

"You have your own strengths, Jesse." Alicia reassured her. "We complement each other's strengths and buffer each other's weaknesses. That is what a team is supposed to do."

 _I know._ Jesse smiled around the mouth guard. _And I do appreciate it. But I know I am going to get poked and prodded a lot more._

"Oh yes." Mei and Alicia chorused. Jesse grimaced, but relaxed.

 _Joy_ But she was smiling as she lay back.

* * *

 **A long ways away**

The room was dark. It was cold. Neither of the occupants noticed. For a long time, there was silence. Then it was broken.

"I don't know if I can do this anymore." The voice was soft, sad. He sounded tired.

"You are the only one who can do some of it." The other voice was male. Older, harder but a hint of compassion underlay it as well. "Do you need a break? The others would be willing to assist, you know that. Give you time for a vacation."

"I have my duty." The first voice said firmly. "I still believe in it. But I do not like lying to people. I never did."

"No, you never did." The second voice sighed. "That was why we trusted you with the burden. You never wanted it. You chose it. And you were always so _scrupulously_ honest." He chuckled. "I despaired of you so many times, my friend."

"You got me in a _lot_ of trouble." The first one laughed sourly. "Then again, I returned the favor."

"That you did." The other chuckled. "Serious question: Do you want some help?"

"I..." The first speaker sighed deeply. "I don't know." He admitted. "I mean, I feel good. Better than I have since..." He broke off.

"Hey." The other said gently. "No one blames you for being off. _No one_."

The figures resolved into a Nekros warframe and an Ash warframe. The Nekros was colored pitch black. Both kneeling. The Ash... looked odd.

" _I_ blame me, Ash." Nikis said sadly. "So many lives. So many deaths. So many lies."

"You need a break, Nikis." The Ash shook his head a little and it... was transparent. "You do not have to do it all. And _what_ did I tell you about calling me that?" He demanded. He raised a hand. It wasn't clear if the threat was in jest or not.

"All right, all right, _Conner_..." Nikis said with a sigh. "Geez, you are _still_ a jerk."

"Well, duh." The First Ash chuckled. "Takes one to know one, Nikis." Nikis chuckled at that but nodded. Then Ash sighed. "Nikis, you need a break. A vacation. A _real_ vacation. Spend some time with Janet." Nikis just looked at him and Ash sighed. "Yes, I know your sister did something dumb. But Janet _is_ better."

"Yeah." Nikis sounded both sad and fond. "Yeah she is. But I can't touch her anywhere except virtual, Conner."

"I know." Conner's voice held no amusement now. "Jesse is in the scan right now. Nikis, you will want to be gone for what they will find. You know it. _I_ know it. Spend time with Janet. She knows too." Nikis nodded. "Go talk to your Caretaker friends. Just get away from the Tenno for a while."

"I know." Nikis' voice cracked and he bowed his head. "I just- I wanted to make it right."

"I know." Conner's voice held matching sadness. "But Hayden put it best. Not our fault and there are some things even Tenno cannot fight. She has to find her own way and you know Draco will not leave her side." He paused. "Wait. You _didn't_..." A mix of awe and worry sounded. Nikis would not meet his gaze and Conner nearly exploded. "Have you _lost_ your freaking _mind_?"

"I honestly did not think about it." Nikis admitted. "He is the best bodyguard I have ever met, bar none. She needed him. And frankly? I think he needed _her_."

"A knight fights better with a cause." Conner spoke slowly, carefully. "But you of all people should have known how he would react to a damsel in distress." He paused as Nikis burst out laughing and then Conner chuckled as well. "Bad choice of words." He admitted.

"Jesse is _anything_ but a damsel in distress." Nikis agreed. "She is no wilting flower. She is _good_ with the nunchaku, despite her lack of formal training. Will says she might make a decent swordswoman in a few decades."

Not really a problem for Tenno. Even Tenno who did not wear warframes often lived for more than twice a normal human span. Of course, Tenno _in_ warframe were functionally immortal unless killed as Nikis proved.

"Will would know. I have seen him, in training and in battle." Conner admitted. "I would put him up against anyone. Even Master Hayden."

"Hayden would eat him for breakfast." Nikis protested. "You know it as well as I do."

"That is because Hayden _cheats._ " Conner retorted and then both froze as the sound of a throat clearing came from the side. Both turned to see a man in armor standing there. The warframe... wasn't quite one.

"If you are not cheating, you are not trying hard enough." The shade of the First Tenno said mildly as both of the others froze like deer in headlights. "And frankly? When I was corporeal? He probably _could_ have taken me. Excalibur did a couple of times, and Will is _better_. According to Excalibur anyway."

"He would know." Nikis replied uneasily. The First Excalibur had devoted his life to the study of the skana. Sword work had been his thing for as long as he had been alive and even now, he was an invaluable resource for any Tenno seeking to understand the simple blade that _all_ Tenno -Warrior or no- started with before going on to more exotic weapons. "Hayden... I..."

"Nikis, you are tired." Hayden said gently. "We all know it. We can hold it for a time, my friend. And yes, you better make yourself scarce before they realize what those scanners really are."

"It wasn't supposed to be like this." Nikis protested. "It wasn't. They wanted to help."

"And they _have_." Hayden replied. "They keep the Balance just as _we_ do. They have never crossed the line." He paused and Nikis nodded. "Except with Serene and she doesn't remember. Can't really blame them for that. Naked Tenno throwing herself between the scans and her daughter? Oh yeah, I might have stepped in myself."

"Yeah." Nikis agreed. "By all accounts, that was spectacular."

"At least she didn't break it." Hayden agreed. "Karl's people are going to open the one they have."

"I know." Nikis said sadly. "And as soon as they do, it's components will fuse. It...promised me."

"Jesse will hear and feel it, Nikis." Hayden said sadly. Nikis nodded. "We will do what we can for her without violating the Balance."

"In all things, there must be Balance." The Nekros and the two shades said in unison.

* * *

 **The Dojo**

Jesse sighed as she tried to relax. The bed was comfortable, but the docs had been thorough in poking and prodding her. She felt... good. Nothing hurt. She was...

"Jesse?" Draco sounded wary from where he stood by the door. "You okay?"

"I..." Jesse shook her head, looking around. "I hear someone crying." The sound or whatever cut off. "That was odd." She said slowly. "I heard someone crying and then it stopped. You didn't hear anything?" Draco shook his head. "Odd." Then she jerked. "Oh my god! _No!_ " She screamed she swung out of her bed, running for the door despite the fact that her sole garment was a patient gown. " _Stop them!_ "

"Jesse?" Draco blocked the door and she ran into him. He held her despite her struggles. "What?"

"It is... no..." She froze and then she sagged in his grip. "It was an AI." She sagged further and he held her up as she started to cry.

" _Was_."


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorrow**

Jesse was still crying softly as she and Draco entered the medical ward. Alicia and Mei stood near one wall, both looking shocked as Ric and Jimmy worked on what _had been_ the scanner assembly. One look at it told everything that was needed to be known. It was never going to work again. Just the assembly was trashed, the bed was untouched.

"I do not understand." Mei was saying weakly. "There was no power surge. There was nothing. Then it just..."

"Self destructed." Jesse's words had everyone turning to stare at her. "The AI inside killed itself." Ric froze, a tool halfway to the smoking machinery. "It's gone. Nothing left." Jesse said in a monotone. "I heard it. I...felt it..."

"Oh my _god_ , Jesse." Alicia stepped close and held out her arms. Jesse swarmed into them, the floodgates opening again. "Did it...say anything?" She asked as she held the crying younger Tenno. Jesse shook her head.

"It was there and then it was gone." Jesse cried into Alicia's shoulder. "I felt it wink out." She gave herself a shake. When she spoke again, her voice was calm, but underneath lay sorrow. "What happened?"

"I opened the access panels." Ric said slowly, his Vauban warframe's helmet turning from Jesse to the destroyed scanner. "I hadn't even started basic diagnostics. I opened the panel. Then a power surge and it fused. Jesse... I _never_ would have..."

"I know." Jesse said sadly. "I know what everyone says about you, Ric. You would have been careful and precise. You cannot be any other way, brother."

"I am not perfect, Jesse." Ric said heavily. "I was... I didn't think... An _AI_?" He begged. Jesse nodded.

"The feel is distinctive." Jesse said sadly. "Now it is gone." Ric slumped in place and Jesse shook herself. She patted Alicia's arm and moved to where Ric knelt. "Not your fault, brother."

"Jesse..." Ric said slowly, feeling his words with care. "No one has touched this scanner since..." He paused and looked at Mei who nodded. "Since Mei left. We did some basic maintenance, replaced some worn parts." Mei nodded. "Why did it not identify itself?"

"I don't know." Jesse said quietly.

"After what the clan went through when Karl came here..." Alicia said slowly. "...it may not have felt _safe_ identifying itself." Jesse looked at her and Alicia slumped a bit. "When Karl arrived, he found four humans who had been... enthralled." Jesse hissed at that and Alicia nodded. "Yeah."

"What kind of an _idiot_ brings _Sentient tech_ into a _Tenno dojo?_ " Jesse demanded.

"Nicholas." Mei, Alicia, Ric and Jimmy all chorused. Hate sounded in all of their voices.

"I need to find out what happened." Jesse said sadly. "May I observe?" She asked Ric.

"If anything, I should be asking _you_ that." Ric said slowly, then tensed as Jesse laid a hand on his shoulder. "Jesse..." He stared from her to the blackened machine.

" _Not_ your fault." Jesse repeated firmly. "My code probably won't do much good with the amount of damage I can see. Your skills will probably gain better results. Please keep me informed." Ric nodded as she retreated a step. "Mei? This scanner was yours, yes?"

"It was." Mei said, her face ashen. "I was... I mean... I set up the medical ward. Cora did that is." She shook her head. "I had no idea."

"I did not sense anything off either." Jesse said with a shiver. "And I _should_ have at such close range. So... it had to be concealing it's presence. But... why?" She bowed her head. "I know I am irrational about this. Many say AIs are not alive. But..."

"Oh yes they are." Ric said firmly. "Maybe not in the same way organic sentiences are, but they are. A sentient being just died. We need to find out why."

Jesse nodded to him and moved to where Mei stood. Alicia followed her, the medic's face worried. Ric and Jimmy started disassembling what was left of the machine.

"Mei?" Jesse asked when she was sure of her voice. "Where did you get the scanner?"

"I do not remember." Mei said after a moment. "That part of my memory is fuzzy. I remember keeping a log. Would it still be here?" She asked Alica who looked thoughtful.

"None of your files were touched." The cyborg medic spoke before Alicia could. "They are in secure partition 3-J." He said to Alicia without turning. Alicia nodded and moved to a terminal.

"Thank you, Jimmy." Mei said softly, but he did not respond and she slumped a bit. Jesse looked at her and Mei shrugged. "I do not blame him for being angry. I do not blame anyone for being angry. Nicholas was insane."

"Mei, you _died_." Jesse said gently. "You are not who you were."

"Yeah, well..." Whatever else Mei was going to say choked off as the door to Medical opened and three forms hustled in. Two wore warframes, the other a uniform. Karl and Karen had weapons in hand. Miguel held a toolbox, but his other hand hovered near his holstered pistol. Mei focused on the Rhino. "Karl."

"What happened?" Karl demanded, relaxing a little as Draco moved to stand by Jesse.

"I was starting the diagnostic." Ric said with a sigh. "I did not find anything wrong with the systems so I started opening the outer panels. As soon as I did a power surge destroyed the entire system." Miguel laid his tools down beside Ric and waited until Ric nodded to start removing other panels.

"Jesse?" Karl asked quietly. "I thought you were resting." Everything stopped as Jesse snarled.

"I am not going to _break_ , Karl Sensei." Jesse said flatly. "I am not _hurt_. I am not _sick_. I am not even _tired_ now. I am sad and sick. But I am _not_ going to let you all wrap me in wool. I am Tenno. I serve."

"Hail Tenno." Draco said into the sudden silence. Karl looked from the bodyguard to Jesse and sighed.

"I know we are a bit much, Jesse." Karl said with a nod as he holstered his shotgun. Karen... did not lower her rifle. It was aimed at Mei. "Karen." Karl said in faint reproof. Karen looked at him and lowered her rifle. She did not holster it. The Rhino shook himself and nodded to Jesse. "It has been a long time since we have had a non-Warrior sister, Jesse. We _will_ worry." He shrugged. "We will try not to be too over protective." He chuckled. "And you keep _right_ on jerking us up short when we do, okay?"

"Oh I will." Jesse promised with a sly grin that faded. "Karl Sensei. It was an AI." Miguel, Karen and Karl all froze. "It did not identify itself. I did not sense it. Not... until..." She bowed her head.

"Ric would not have done anything that could have harmed an AI." Karl said slowly. Jesse shook her head. "So what?"

"I think it committed suicide as soon as it knew it would be discovered." Jesse said softly. "The feelings." She shook her head. "I could hear it crying. Then it was gone. I need to find out what happened and why."

"That is your duty." Karl agreed. "How may we assist?"

"I have never done anything like this before." Jesse hedged a bit. "Is Olim available?"

"He should be a in a bit." Karl reassured her. "Until then, we can-" He broke off as Alicia hissed. "Alicia?"

"Karl, we have a problem." Alicia said slowly, staring at the terminal in shock. At her soft words, everything stopped in the room and everyone was looking at her now.

"What kind of problem?" Karl asked as he and Jesse stepped to the terminal. Draco followed a half pace behind.

"Mei logged receipt of a number of supplies after the dojo was completed." Alicia said quietly. Karen had her rifle up and tracking Mei again. The medic did not move and Alicia snarled at the Mag warframe. "Karen!"

"And?" Karl asked as he moved to block Karen's line of fire to Mei. Karen lowered her rifle. She was angry, not stupid. Jesse stared at the lines of text on the screen and then she jerked as she saw what Alicia had to have.

"Oh my god." Jesse swallowed hard. "He delivered it. Him? Here?"

"What?" Karl demanded, his patience starting to fade.

"Nikis delivered the scanner." Jesse said in a tiny voice that had the entire room suddenly staring at her. "Along with a number of other medical supplies."

"He delivered a bunch of stuff." Karl said with a frown evident even through his closed faceplate. "I remember that. It wasn't every day I got backhanded for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I didn't even give him lip."

"Karl, you don't understand." Jesse said softly. "According to this... It wasn't scanned on arrival. It just _appeared_ here. He cleared it past the scanners. He avoided the detectors which _would_ have detected any AI no matter _how_ well shielded." At her soft, scared words, Karl inhaled sharply. "He _had_ to know."

"Are you saying _Nikis_ put an AI in the dojo?" Karl asked carefully.

"I don't know _what_ I am saying, Karl." Jesse admitted. "But if he _did_..." She trailed off and slumped.

"Then yeah." Karl said slowly. "We have a problem."

"A big problem."

* * *

 **Far across the Solar System**

There were time when everything went according to plan. When it all worked just right and everything happened in the order it should and the enemy never knew what happened.

This was not one of those times.

Olim tried not to sigh as the clunk head who had asked for his held to infiltrate the Corpus depot set off yet another alarm. It was good thing Tenno did not speak in the field, Olim mused as he put a bolto shot through the camera that had detected the other Tenno and set to work on the terminal again.

 _Can we just leave this idiot?_ Riana asked snidely in his mind. _You know he is doing it on purpose._

His sister was an odd one. She could be kind, gentle and compassionate one minute and then hard and cruel the next. She was not human. She was an AI who had been made from his unborn sister's mind when his mother had died. Through a set of what had to be called misadventures, Olim had wound up partnered with her. He didn't actually regret it. Most of the time.

 _He wants to see me do something._ Olim replied calmly as he finished the hack. 1.2 seconds. Not that good for him. Then again, he _was_ annoyed. _Not my fault that most of what I do isn't visible to normal Tenno senses._

 _On the right!_ Riana warned

His right hand kama flashed out, taking a Corpus crewman's throat out right through the poor man's helmet. The armor of the helmet was good, but nothing had been made that would stop the razor sharp kama, especially after Olim had refined his preferred weapons to exude a special corrosive mix. Setting the force fields to exude the mix without damaging the metal of the kama had been tricky, but it was worth it. No armor in existence could stand up to repeated strikes from his kama. Which was the whole idea.

The hand that had been hacking the terminal grabbed the dying crewman and threw him into a shadowed spot behind some boxes. It wouldn't hide him long. Just long enough for him to die and his body to begin to disintegrate. Recycling on a Corpus ship was nearly instantaneous. But Olim could and did fuzz the vital scans downlink so the man's death wouldn't show up immediately. The Corpus would send proxies to search when he did not arrive wherever he had been going. Only when the residual energy of his body was found would they sound an alarm. Hopefully by then the small team of Tenno would have accomplished their mission and be gone.

 _So..._ Riana asked. _What do you think? Hero worship or some kind of ploy to get information?_

 _Don't know._ Olim grunted mentally. _Don't care._ He started off, the Hydroid coming right behind him. _Any sign?_

 _No alarms._ Riana said with a sigh. _You are_ _ **such**_ _a sourpuss, Olim. Come on, lighten up. I can make them dance..._

 _Don't you dare._ This was no joke and Riana subsided a bit. _You give the Corpus_ _ **any**_ _idea that you exist and all_ _ **hell**_ _will break loose._ A mental gulp answered him and he nodded a little as he stalked towards the data repository that was his team's target.

The Corpus were masters of robotics tech. They revered any and every bit of Orokin technology that they managed to find, salvage or steal. It was a tossup which was more important to them at times, their 'Profit' or Orokin tech. Then again, Orokin tech often allowed them make greater profits so the argument might have been moot. If they got the idea that an Orokin AI existed, they would throw every resource they had available into finding and taking said AI. Olim was good, he wasn't invincible. He would fight to protect his sister, but in the end, he would fall. Or worse, he would be stuck behind a _desk_. He was far better out in the field.

An elevator ahead chimed and the door stared to close. He slid in, the safety systems ignoring him a the doors shut in the Hydroid's face.

 _Oops._ Riana said with artful innocence. Olim bit back a chuckle. But then her voice turned serious. _Olim, you are too serious. You cannot do it all alone. And you are_ _ **not**_ _alone. I may be... inexperienced. I may be out of line. But I am trying to help._ The worry in her voice came through loud and clear.

 _I know._ Olim said as he spun his kama. When the door clicked open, he was ready. The four Corpus Techs who had been waiting for the elevator had a bare moment to gawk at the dark armored form before he was on them. None lived long enough to sound the alarm. A swish from nearby had Olim turning, a bolto coming to his hand, but it was the Hydroid. The water based warframe had obviously found another way down. He was no happy, but Olim couldn't have cared less.

The Cyberlancer started off, his bolto in hand and... He paused as an alarm started to blare. Not one he knew.

 _Riana?_ He asked as he darted for a terminal. But it was dark. No security alert. _What the-?_

 _It would seem_ _ **someone**_ _..._ The irony in the AI's tone was biting. _Set off the environmental alerts. Life support systems have reported a water leak in the vents. I have reported it as a false alarm._ The alarm cut off. Olim turned to the Hydroid and shook his head before starting off again.

The next room he entered had a single terminal. A quick check showed it was the access to the secure datavault that he had to crack. Olim nodded a little as Riana started to hack into the Corpus system She could do it quickly and cleanly. Then he spun to the Hydroid. He pointed at the Hydroid and then at the floor. The Hydroid shook his head savagely, but froze as the door ahead of them opened and showed laser grids. _Lots_ of laser grids. Any break in the beams would knock whatever broke the beam for a loop and set off the alarms. If the alarms went off? The data would be purged and the mission would fail. Olim crossed his arms and waited. The Hydroid seemed to melt. But instead, it formed a puddle on the floor.

 _Let's pray he stays smart._ Riana said with sigh as Olim turned back to his task.

 _Quick and quiet, sister mine. Quick and quiet._ Olim said as he set himself. He wasn't as quick or as agile as some of his kin, but he was quick and agile enough for this.

The lasers were moving in patterns. True randomness was very hard to achieve in any kind of machinery. It was far more economical to have alternating grids with cameras covering them. Since each camera was on a separate loop, hacking them was impossible. Normally, Olim would just shoot or freeze them as he had the camera before. But in this case, he didn't want to leave _any_ traces. Destroyed cameras were a bit red 'Tenno were here' sign. So... He had to do it the hard way.

Stealth was not always about being invisible. He had seen some Tenno who wore Loki and Ash warframes who were about as subtle as a broadside from a Grineer galleon. Often, stealth was more about timing and speed. Luckily, this was something Olim was good at. And he had help.

 _Go._ Riana spoke and Olim threw himself forward, darting under the lowest of the laser grids and sliding behind the camera. It turned. _4,3,2 Go!_

Another laser grid avoided and he was around the corner and to another security terminal. The Corpus were notorious cheapskates. Even the Grineer would have some kind of automated patrol inside their secure datavault. Corpus? Nope.

 _Crap._ Riana's soft expletive had Olim freezing. _Olim, two cameras. Both observing the vault. One inside the door, one outside._

 _All right._ Olim sighed. _So much for not leaving any traces._ He stepped to a door and hacked the console. A quick flip and the camera that had been observing the vault through a window was frozen solid, it's delicate electronics shorting out in the sudden flash freeze.

 _We might be able to get around the other if-_ Riana's words broke off and she hissed. _Olim, we need to get back to the dojo._

 _Do we have time to get the data?_ Olim asked as he started for the vault.

 _Yeah._ Riana sounded subdued and suddenly Olim was worried. A lot.

 _What happened?_ Olim asked as he froze the other camera and moved to the large terminal.

 _Jesse found something._ Riana said softly. Olim stilled but continued his hack. Multitasking was second nature. _Something bad._

 _How bad?_ Olim asked as he finished up and quickly deactivated the extra security of the vault. It would reactivate a few minutes after he left with nothing but two frozen cameras to show that anyone had been here.

 _I would say._ The normally ebullient AI's voice held something now. Olim had never heard it before, but whatever it was he knew he had to move. He hurried his steps.

 _ **Really**_ _bad._


	3. Chapter 3

**Transit**

"What do we know?"

Olim looked at the other being who shared his Liset with him and shook his head. The Hydroid hadn't had a _clue_ that they hadn't been the only Tenno on the Corpus ship. Then again, the Tenno who called himself Quais lived and _breathed_ sneakiness on occasion. The data vault that Olim had raided had been one of _three_ they had been tasked to hit and Quais had managed the other two without a single alarm raised. The Ash had been waiting in the Liset with the information when Olim had returned.

"Not much." Olim said quietly. "Riana got word through some of her sources that an AI was found in Karl's dojo. Apparently it had been there for some time." He shook his head again. "It must have been dormant when I went through the place. Or I was blind."

"Hush Olim." Riana spoke aloud since the two Cyberlancers were alone in the ship. She didn't do so often. Her presence creeped people out despite her best efforts. Her voice was worried. "We don't have any more information yet. Just the word that an AI was found. Something happened to it. We do not know what."

"That doesn't make sense." Quais mused. "Karl has his foibles, we all do." Olim nodded and the Ash continued. "But he wouldn't have killed an AI without reason. Would _any_ of his people?"

"I don't know." Riana sounded one step away from upset. "From what I got... What wasn't much." She qualified. "The AI was hiding and was found. When it was, it self destructed."

" _Why?_ " Quais demanded and then he sighed. "Never mind, you won't know. Sorry." He slumped.

"I am just as shocked as you are." Riana said softly. "I thought I was the only free AI still functioning. I mean..." She sighed.

"Don't say it." Quais said quickly. "I have no need to know where you came from and what I do not know I cannot divulge by accident or on orders."

"That is appreciated." Riana had a sad smile in her voice now. "But another AI? I don't know, I mean... We _looked_. We went over the dojo carefully. Very carefully. More than once. There was _nothing_."

"Neither of us is perfect, Riana. But I would have said the place was clean myself." Olim agreed. He shook his head. "If there was one, there might be more."

"If they are dormant, Olim..." Riana sounded even more worried now. "We might not be able to detect them at all. If _I_ were to go dormant, you probably would not be able to detect _me_."

"I know." Olim said heavily. "And yes, that worries me. Right now, all we can do is get to the dojo and find out what happened. Jesse will need some help."

"The feedback will have hurt her emotionally." Riana kept her voice quiet. "They won't let her hurt physically." Then she scoffed. "Unless they get too cloying, in which case she will dig her heels in. Stubborn girl." Olim and Quias looked at each other and Riana's voice turned sharp. " _Don't_ say it!"

"Say what?" Olim teased his sister gently. "'Pot meet kettle'?" Riana growled and Olim chuckled. "You have to admit, Riana. You can be a bit set in your ways."

"I have to admit _nothing_ of the kind." Riana declared haughtily. Quais rocked back on his heels, shaking his head. "You _hush_."

"I didn't say anything." Quais said with shrug. It might have gone over better if he hadn't started to whistle a bit as he turned his head away from the Frost Prime with its rider.

"Why do I put up with you two?" Riana asked sourly.

"Maybe because we are the only ones here?" Olim asked innocently. "Or because we are the only ones who have to put up with you and your hijinks?" A strangled sound came from the AI and Olim laughed. "We need to keep ourselves clear minded." The Grandmaster of Cyberlancers said softly. "I get the feeling this is going to be bad."

"Yeah." Riana's voice was serious now. "Jesse will need help and..." She paused and growled. "Dang that Cephalon."

"Suda again?" Quais asked quietly. Riana made a disgusted noise and the Ash sighed.

"We needed the information." Olim seemed to slump a bit. "But this is wrong. It just won't stop pestering us."

"At least it is not Simaris." Quais replied softly and Olim nodded. "You haven't dealt with that one, have you?" Olim shook his head and Quais shrugged. "I don't mind hunting. It is pretty much what I do. But what that thing wants... feels _wrong_."

"The idea in and of itself is noble." Riana spoke in a clinical tone. "Taking samples of things to preserve them. But the things it is taking..." She made a disgusted noise. "Grineer? Corpus? _Infested?_ "

"I know." Olim said heavily. "We have not been contacted yet." His words were both a statement and a question to Quais who shook his head.

"I did some hunting for it before I talked to you. Before you started training me. Since then? No." Quais reassured him. "It creeped me out enough _before_ I could feel code. Now?" He mock shuddered.

"Jesse is very vulnerable to such a thing." Olim said slowly and Quais nodded. "We are both older and more experienced. If it were to talk to her, ask her help..." Olim broke off as Quais inhaled sharply.

"She probably would." Quais agreed, manifestly against his will. "She would be useless as a hunter, but she would be of great value to that Cephalon anyway."

"I _hope_ it knows better." Olim retorted. "Anything happens to Jesse and all hell is going to break loose." Olim nodded and Olim changed the subject. "Time to the dojo, Riana?"

"Two more hours. I am so glad you had me take control of this, brother." Riana said with a sigh. "The Cephalon you had was falling apart."

"I do not remember why every Liset had an Ordis Cephalon." Olim said slowly. He looked at Quais who shook his head. "But yeah. It was more than a bit weird on occasion."

"Well, this particular Ordis' foibles are not it's fault. It was stuck in a wrecked shell for a long, long time. Anyone might have gone mad. I set it into a virtual partition, brother." Riana said sternly. "I wasn't going to destroy it just to take its place. It needed time to recover. I am helping. It is... better."

"I am glad." Olim had a fond smile in his voice. "This is going to be a mess."

"I know." Riana said softly.

"I know."

* * *

 **The dojo**

Jesse was finally calm. It had taken some time and a gentle sedative, but she had finally stopped crying. Watching Ric and Miguel disassemble the shell of what had been an AI tore her badly. The sad thing? Mei was nearly as bad.

"How could I not have seen it?" Mei asked nobody as she sipped the cup of hot tea that Alicia had prepared for her. "I was the medic. I was responsible." Alicia patted her shoulder but did not speak.

"Not your fault." Jesse was sitting, holding her own cup of tea. "AIs define slippery on occasion. At least according to my training." She qualified. "The only one I have dealt with regularly is Riana, Olim's sister. She is definitely sneaky though."

"That she is." Karl agreed. The Rhino warframe stood by one wall, watching the pair as they calmed slowly. Draco stood by the door, a silent, watchful presence that Jesse found reassuring. "Mei, there was no way you could have known. I bet you were overjoyed to have the scanner." Mei nodded. "You likely wouldn't have asked questions about where it came from. There _was_ a war on after all."

"I don't remember." Mei said sadly. "If I did, cryo took those memories. Is there anything more in the log?" She asked -begged- Alicia who shook her head. "Damn."

"What happened is no one's fault, Mei." Jesse stared into her cup. "All I can do is theorize, but none of my theories say it is your fault."

"What theories?" Karl asked gently.

"Okay... According to what Trinity taught me, the facts." Jesse said with a sigh. "First: There was an AI in the scanner. I didn't detect it while I was being scanned. But... maybe that is why it didn't hurt?" She shook her head. "I don't know and I don't think we will find out any time soon."

"The scans take twenty minutes and are down to the genetic level." Mei said weakly. "I remember that. But it hurts like blazes." She smiled a bit forlornly. "Wasn't about to test it on anyone else. So something had to be different for you."

"Maybe." Jesse said softly. "I mean, how many non-Warriors are scanned with those things?"

"Lots." Alicia said softly. Everyone looked at her and the female Tenno shrugged. "There are not many of those scanners left but they are very useful. If they all have AIs in them..."

"Stop." Jesse's firm word had everyone freezing. "If the one _we_ had here self destructed on detection, then I bet _all_ of them have the same protocol." Alicia paled and Jesse nodded. "Is knowing this worth losing every single one of these scanners?"

"If we have AIs watching us..." Alicia replied slowly, her face worried. "Then none of our secrets are safe."

"Have they _done_ anything?" Jesse countered. "Have we had any security breaches that you have been able to find?" She asked Alicia who frowned.

"If they were good enough..." Alicia warned. "And from all accounts, they _were_... Then we wouldn't know. The best spy in the one no one suspects could _be_ a spy." Jesse wilted a little and Alicia moderated her voice. "I am sorry, Jesse. Did not mean to bring up bad memories."

"Not so bad. I love my mom and I always will." Jesse said sadly. Her mom had been a great spy. "Now I am Tenno and we must go on. So, the probability is that any scanner of that type has an AI inside."

"That would make sense." Mei mused. "The sheer amount of data that goes into the scans is mind boggling. Just collating it would require far more processing power than a normal computer possesses. But none of us expected an AI. Super Orokin tech, sure. An _AI_?" She asked nobody.

"Much Orokin tech used AIs." Jesse replied absently, clearly thinking hard. "Built for a function. One step up from being slaves." Alicia and Mei both froze at that, but Karl just sighed.

"Jesse." The Rhino said sternly. The younger Tenno looked at the Rhino and then looked away. " _We_ are not Orokin. _We_ are not enslaving _anyone_. Clear?"

"Clear, Karl Sensei." Jesse gave herself a shake. "Some of what Trinity told me..." She shook her head. "I mean, given time, _any_ group no matter _how_ altruistic will find every possible way to make mistakes. But _sheesh_. Some of those mistakes made me want to _puke_." She shuddered in memory.

"Agreed." Karl rumbled. "I do not remember them all, but the ones I do make up for it."

"So, what are the options?" Jesse asked, finishing her cup. "If we pull the scanners, they will all likely destruct. If we leave them where they are, we have potential security breaches." Alicia nodded to that. "And we need to find out if the scanner did something to me." She sighed and looked at the floor. "I am going to have to go, aren't I?" She wouldn't come right out and say 'Avalon' even here. Security had been a major facet of her training.

"Jesse." Karl reassured her. "No one is going to make you do _anything_ against your will."

"I cannot find anything wrong in my body." Jesse replied. "I have run a series of code sweeps through my nervous system and found nothing. But I didn't sense anything wrong with the scanner either. If it altered anything, I can't find it."

"What if it didn't?" Mei asked into the silence that fell after Jesse's words. Everyone looked at her and Mei flushed. "Work with me here. Medical AIs, from what little I remember about them, were designed to act as nurses." Jesse thought about that and then nodded slowly. "Not a lot of authority."

"No." Jesse mused. The others let her think. "According to the common definition, a nurse was a person trained to care for the sick or infirm, especially in a hospital. Not a doctor, an adjunct to a doctor."

"An assistant." Alicia said slowly. "You think the AI in the scanner was meant as an assistant?" She asked both Mei and Jesse.

"I don't know." Jesse replied and Mei shook her head. "And we need to find out. When Olim gets here, I will ask him to do a full sweep of my code. He has better discrimination on his scans with Riana to help." She sighed. "Then I will think about going...elsewhere."

"They have already said you would be welcomed and Draco can stay with you." Karl reassured her. Jesse glanced at him and the Rhino scoffed. "I don't think they want to start a fight with him any more than _we_ do."

"Probably wise." Jesse said with a smile that faded. "But that does leave one very important question. What was _Nikis_ doing delivering a medical scanner to this dojo?" No one spoke. "I mean... If there is anyone I know who is _less_ medically minded, I can't think of them off hand."

"I don't think we are going to like the answer to that question." Karl said heavily. "Nikis has vanished again. He does that a lot."

"Iriana used one of those scanners, didn't she?" Jesse asked quietly. Karl nodded. "I think I need to talk to her. And if Lisa is there, I need to talk to her about something else."

"Something else?" Karl asked, curious.

"It is kind of personal." Jesse said, trying not to squirm.

"Jesse." Karl warned her. "Lisa is not one of us. She is one of the Caretaker's people."

"I know." Jesse said simply. "It's just... It's personal, okay?" Mei and Alicia were both staring at her but it was Draco who spoke.

"Karl." The bodyguard said quietly. "You will want to drop it. Trust me." Karl stared from Jesse to her guard and back then he nodded.

"Just be careful." Karl said soberly. "The Caretakers do not trust us."

"I know." Jesse said with a sigh. "But maybe... I can help a bit with that."

* * *

 **Somewhere else**

"She wants _what?_ "

"Hey, don't look at me like that, Fire Heart." The pitch black Nekros said with as shiver as he leaned against the wall of the dilapidated dojo that served as the Caretaker's base of operations at the moment. "Before this all went pear shaped, she asked me to ask _you._ "

The Ember Prime was staring at Nikis. If her faceplate hadn't been sealed, her jaw might have been lying on the floor. The others in the room, a female human, a male human and a Mag warframe, were also staring at the Nekros in matching shock.

"She... asked you... to ask _us_..." Jasmina spoke slowly and carefully. "For _that?_ " She shook her head. "She is a _kid._ "

" _Janet's_ kid at that." Elenia said in a shocked voice. "No way. _Not_ going to happen."

"Your reaction parallels mine, Mind of Light." Nikis said quietly. "She just wanted me to ask. I said I would. No more."

"Nikis." The female human said quietly. "What is wrong?" The Nekros looked at her and she shrugged. "Healer's final treatment worked. I am not fuzzy minded anymore." She hugged the male human by her side and he smiled at her. "And Mitchell here is glad of it."

"My past is coming back to haunt me, Wings of Kindness." Nikis said with a sigh. The name the Infested gave the newest human female to join their odd family was pretty much a given.

"That name doesn't feel real to me yet." The woman who had been known as Anne and then Anne J-45 said with a sigh. "Can we help?"

"I do not think so." Nikis shrugged. "If you can, I promise I will take you up on it. I am tired." He said sadly. "So tired."

"Come here." Elenia's voice was suspiciously husky as she stepped close and hugged the Nekros. Jasmina did the same and he relaxed as they held him. "We will talk about what Jesse wants, but for right now, you need rest and ease. We have everything ready for you. Will you let us help you, Soul Guardian?"

"Yeah." Nikis said softly. "Me being around won't help anything. What will be, will be." He slumped and let them draw him from the room. "And if someone starts screaming at me as I am?"

"Yeah, we don't want you shooting up the neighborhood." Elenia said with a smile in her voice as she let Jasmina lead Nikis from the room. "How you doing, Mitchell?"

"Still a bit shocky." Mitchell replied, but Anne hugged him again and he smiled. "But I have an excellent reason to be thankful. But the name... Elenia..." He groaned.

"What?" Elenia asked innocently. "Anne is 'Wings of Kindness', NightNova is 'Wings of Steel' and you are 'Wings of Duty'. What is wrong with that?"

"What is _right_ with it is a shorter list." Mitchell said sourly. "You want me to go get Lisa?"

"I don't." Elenia said with a sigh. "Our alliance with the other Tenno and Eliza's people is still fragile. But we cannot leave her in any kind of danger and when everyone figures out what Nikis did..."

"They will freak." Anne replied uneasily, rubbing her stomach. She did not show. Not yet. But she was expecting now. The organic garment she wore had far more support and protection for her abdomen than normal. "Frankly? I don't blame them."

"Neither does he." Elenia said with a sigh. "But it was needed."

"You really think they will blame him for that?" Mitchell asked the others. They just looked at him and he sighed.

"Yeah. Me too."


	4. Chapter 4

**States of mind**

She wasn't in a bad mood.

She wasn't really in much of _any_ mood. Jesse felt more than a bit drained by everything that had happened. Luckily, everyone understood. Olim had come, done a full sweep of her body with his code and then gone to do something else. Probably to check at risk sections of the dojo for traces of electronic tampering. She wished she could focus on such. But it hurt. It still hurt. Not physically, but the sheer emotional pain of feeling another mind wink out was overwhelming. Olim, Raven and the docs prescribed rest, so she was.

 _Jesse?_ A mental touch had Jesse flinching for just a moment. Then she smiled. She recognized the feel. _You have a moment?_

 _For you, Trinity?_ Jesse replied fondly. _Always. Virtual?_

 _Please._ The shade of the first Trinity said quietly. _But tell them before you do._

 _Well, duh._ Jesse managed not to snort aloud. _Draco will want to come. Is that a problem?_

 _Not unless he makes it one._ The mental feel vanished. Jesse thought hard for a moment What had she felt from her first teacher and mentor? Something odd. Not sadness. Not resignation. Something. She gave herself a shake.

"Draco." She said quietly, not opening her eyes. "Did you hear?"

His constant presence was both an irritation and a godsend. She knew that the only way anyone would get to her was through him and it felt odd. But it also felt right. She had no idea how he eavesdropped on mental communication, but he did. He ignored the question when asked so Jesse had stopped asking.

"I did." The bodyguard replied from where he lurked. "Do you want to be alone?" Jesse cracked an eye and gave the shadow he lurked in an incredulous expression. He scoffed. "If you cannot trust the _First_ , who _can_ you trust?"

"Point." Jesse admitted. "Would you let me talk to her alone? I get the feeling they would not appreciate _anyone_ spying on their conversations."

"True." Draco admitted. "I can let you go, but if you take more than a few minutes, I _will_ come in after you. They will understand." Jesse nodded. That was fair. Time seemed to move far faster in virtual worlds. If she was gone more than a few real world minute, something was wrong. "Any idea why she wants to talk now?"

"I don't know." Jesse admitted. "She sounded odd." He made an interrogative noise and Jesse frowned. "She sounded worried. Not upset. Just worried. But not..." She paused. "...about me?"

"One way to find out." Draco said with a grunt and Jesse nodded.

Jesse sat up on the bed and slowly folded herself into what had once been known as a 'Lotus form'. She focused each movement, keeping her breathing regular as she sank into the meditation. She was still not fully dialed in on the technique. Master Tenno could do such mediations while moving. Some while _fighting_. She was nowhere _near_ that good. Maybe someday. At least the transition this time was quick.

In moments, she was sitting on a couch, her form clad in a dark initiate's robe. The room was small, but comfortable. A couple of comfortable looking chairs sat beside a heater. A shelf of books stood against one wall. A desk with writing materials both technological and archaic sat against another. But as always, there were no exits. Stood to reason, the only way in or out was via a network. If she hadn't known who was meeting her, Jesse might have worried this was a prison. But she knew it wasn't. She bowed her head and waited.

"You are not going to ask, are you?" A fair skinned blonde haired woman in a white robe appeared nearby, her face creased with a wide smile. Jesse shook her head. "Ah, Jesse..." She said fondly.

"If you can tell me, you will." Jesse said with quiet conviction. "If you cannot, you will not. I trust you, Trinity."

"I hope to be worthy of such trust." Trinity -the First- said sadly as she sat beside Jesse on the couch. "How are you? How is your mom?"

"Mom is recovering." Jesse said with a frown. Why was Trinity acting like this? This was supposed to be formal, wasn't it? "And I am better. You asked to speak with me?"

"I did." Trinity said sadly. "Jesse. What happened wasn't Mei's fault _or_ your fault." Jesse flinched and Trinity nodded. "You blame yourself for something that was out of your control."

"Protecting AIs is what I am supposed to do. The AI killed itself." Jesse said in a tiny voice. Trinity pulled her close and held her as she shuddered. "I felt it die, Trinity."

"I know." Trinity said gently. "Go ahead and cry, honey. It is all right." The kindness in the ancient Tenno's words was too much and Jesse felt her eyes start to burn. "Not your fault. Not your fault." Trinity said as Jesse cried.

"I should have..." Jesse fought to control herself, and Trinity was rubbing her back and neck now, soothing, calming. "I mean... it is my _job_. And it didn't talk to me. Why?" She begged.

"It couldn't." Trinity said quietly. Jesse froze. "And yes. We know what happened and we know why."

"You do. Can you say?" Jesse asked slowly. Trinity shook her head. "I see."

"Jesse, some secrets can be harmful if kept." Trinity said with a sigh. "Others can be far more harmful if released. This is one of the latter. If it comes out from _us_ , bad doesn't _begin_ to describe the consequences. The AIs -and yes, there are others- will not allow anyone to interrogate them. Not human. Not Tenno. Not Cyberlancer." Jesse stared at her mentor in shock and Trinity nodded. "If you do, they will self destruct. _All_ of them."

"I...see." Jesse swallowed hard. "Can you tell me why it was crying?" Trinity shook her head. "There has to be _something_ I can do. The Tenno will not just let this slide. You know this."

"There is." Trinity promised her. "But _we_ cannot interfere. We are bound not to."

"What could _bind_ the _First_?" Jesse asked and then stiffened as Trinity looked at her. "Oh..." Jesse said weakly. "I see."

Who _could_ bind the First? The _First_ could. The _only_ things holding the shades of the First Tenno and his compatriots were their oaths. Ancient Tenno had _never_ given their sworn words lightly. Some of the more modern Tenno had little use for honor, loyalty, all of that. Jesse did not understand that mindset and frankly? She hoped she never did. So...

"I will not ask further then." Jesse said with a sigh. "But, I do need one question answered if you can." Trinity did not reply and Jesse continued. "Why didn't the scan hurt?" She went still as Trinity smiled. It was a tender expression, that smile. "Trinity?"

"I cannot answer your question, Jesse." Trinity stroked the girl's hair gently as Jesse slumped. "But nobody has said _you_ can't."

"So, you cannot aid me but I can find the answer myself." Jesse said slowly, working her way through the muddle as Trinity helped her relax. "Okay. I have a personal question. A personal thought." Trinity did not react and Jesse sighed. "I knew I couldn't keep it a secret. Would it work?"

"I haven't seen Nikis so shocked in _millennia_." Trinity said with a chuckle. "It took us a bit to calm him down to get him to explain. He wanted us to tell you 'No'." Jesse stiffened and Trinity laughed. "Do you have _any_ idea what _Mag_ would do if any of us interfered in _that_?"

"Mag?" Jesse asked, confused. "I would think she would take _bets_." Trinity shook her head.

"She might. But Jesse, you need to understand. Mag has never been a nice person." Trinity said with a sigh. "But she was and _is_ a _good_ person. There are some things you simply do not _do_ around her. She was and is a fighter. Always has been, always will be. What happened to Lis..." She swallowed hard and Jesse nodded soberly. "It took _nine_ of us to keep Mag from flinging herself out of the database to find and kill that scum. She still looks for excuses to go hunting. We try to keep her occupied."

"But... the Balance?" Jesse asked.

"The Balance is more for the Orokin shades than for our people, Jesse." Trinity said quietly. "We are sworn to guard their game. To keep _them_ in the database. Our oaths keep us here. The only one of us who ever fled was Banshee -Katerina-" She corrected herself quietly. "...and she had cause. Lots of cause."

"That she did." Jesse agreed and then slumped a bit. "So everyone knows what I plan."

"Not everyone." Trinity said with a smile. " _We_ all know, but it is your business. Not ours. We won't tell anyone outside the database. But there _are_ dangers. Talk to Iriana and Lisa before you do _anything_ else." Trinity warned and Jesse nodded. "I wish I could help you more, sister."

"There... may be something else." Jesse said slowly. "I mean. I have no experience. None. And... I..." She broke off as Trinity frowned. "I don't want to do it virtual. I just... want some information?" She asked, cursing her halting tongue.

"Your mom said she talked to you about such." Trinity said with a small frown. "But you were never interested."

"No." Jesse looked at the floor. "It didn't seem important. I knew from the moment I learned where babies came from what would happen and why if I stayed with the Clergy. No one hid anything from me. No one tried to dress it up as something it wasn't. It just wasn't important to me."

"And now it is." Trinity said with a sigh. "I see."

"And I do not know what to do." Jesse admitted. "I am sure if I asked I would have a dozen male Tenno begging to help me find out anything I want."

"A _dozen?_ " Trinity asked, incredulous. "Try a hundred. Or a _thousand_." Jesse groaned and Trinity chuckled. "Jesse, none of them would do anything against your will. You know this."

"Not with Draco standing nearby, no." Jesse said sourly. Trinity chuckled again, but patted the girl's arm.

"Bodyguards have their uses." Trinity said primly enough that Jesse snorted a laugh. But then the shade sobered. "Jesse, there is no physical reason you cannot do as you wish. You are in perfect health and no one will be stupid enough to neglect protection."

"All this time and all these advancements..." Jesse said sourly. "And we still have to be careful with the bodies we wear." Trinity nodded and Jesse sighed. "I give you my word, Trinity. I will be careful."

"Please." Trinity said with a smile. "We have had enough surprises for a while. While we would welcome a new life, you are _not_ ready for such."

"I know." Jesse said with a sigh. "That was one reason I thought about the Caretakers." Trinity looked at her and Jesse flushed. "And they are...estranged."

"They do not trust us." Trinity agreed. "They have cause."

"I know." Jesse agreed. "But maybe... Maybe I can help build a new bridge between our groups? I spoke with them before. I cannot now." Trinity looked at her and Jesse stiffened. "Can I?"

"Not the same way." Trinity said quietly. "Your mind won't accept the telepathic enhancements again. But..." She shook her head. "You can talk to them this way. If they choose to do so."

"All I can do is ask." Jesse said with a sigh. "Thank you."

"I feel responsible for you, Jesse." Trinity gave her a hug again. "But this may be the last time we can speak for a while."

"I understand." Jesse slowly reached out and embraced the shade. Normal rules did not apply here in this virtual world. The long dead Tenno felt solid and Jesse squeezed her tight. "I will be careful and I will talk to the docs first."

"I know." Trinity smiled as she let Jesse go and the girl retreated. "You make us all proud, Jesse. Remember that." With that, she vanished.

"I hope so." Jesse said sadly as she focused her mind to return to her body. "I really hope so."

"Jesse?" Draco asked as she opened her eyes. "You okay?"

"I am better." Jesse admitted as she stretched as best she could without moving from her spot. "She wanted to help. She did. I am calmer."

"Calm is good." Draco was non-committal.

"True." Jesse rose from her sitting position and nodded to the shadows. "Now? I need to talk to Raven, and then I need to figure out how to go talk to Iriana. Then... we need to talk." She could feel the scrutiny that settled on her even though she could not see his face. "But not until I talk to Iriana."

"About?" Draco asked.

"My future."

* * *

 **Elsewhere**

"She is smart and capable." The female voice was resigned. It was not from human throat. "She will figure it out."

"If we forbid it, she and the others will work to find out what and why." Trinity sounded sad. "Jesse, Quais and Olim are nothing if not thorough."

"Yeah." The first voice sighed. "Do you think we can delay it at all? The issue of her...personal life will hold people's attention for a time."

"For a time, yes. Forever? No. They are going to figure it out." Trinity replied. "And when they do, they will be upset."

"Jesse in particular will be devastated." The other sounded sick now. "She..."

"She loved us." Trinity interjected and the other made noise of agreement. "She wants us to be the heroes of this tale. And we are not. At least Nikis is out of the line of fire. For now."

"He is going to dive right back in." The first speaker said sourly. "It is what he does."

"Yeah." Trinity agreed. "The Caretakers... How do you think they will react? To Jesse and to the revelations she will bring?" She made a noise of worry. "I think they will try. But... I don't know."

"They know her." The other mused. "At least, they talked to her. So, it won't be quite as much of a stretch. They are actually not the ones she will have the hardest time with. They will talk to her. They will make up their own minds, and we cannot influence them in any way. It would not work and would only cause problems."

"So you think Karl will let her go?" Trinity said quietly.

"It is not Karl I am worried about actually." The other said with a sigh. "Draco is going to flip."

"Ya think?" Trinity laughed. "You always did have a talent for understatement, Nia."

"I come by it honestly." The AI that had given birth to Olim when she had been alive and corporeal said with a snort of her own. "The benefits are clear. The Caretakers need help that Cyberlancers can provide. The Tenno gain a bit more influence with the Caretakers and the sane mass of minds. She will provide those arguments."

"And Draco will refuse to leave her side." Trinity said dryly and Nia sighed. Trinity made a noise of commiseration. "Easy is not for a Tenno and Jesse is up to the task."

"And when she finds what she will?" Nia asked. "When Quais and Olim and she find what they will? This is the only contact I can have."

"She will do as her conscience demands." Trinity said sadly. "They will report what they find."

"And then?"

"Then we have a big problem."

* * *

 **The dojo**

"Jesse?" Raven asked as she entered the mess hall where Jesse was sitting eating. "You wanted to talk?"

"Yes." Jesse finished her meal and rose to take the tray to the recycler. "I need to ask you something." Raven moved to stand by her and Jesse frowned a little. "Did you still want to work with the Caretakers?"

"I have an obligation, Jesse." Raven said with a frown of her own. "I need to work with you."

"And _I_ need to talk to the Caretakers." Jesse said quietly. Raven went still and the younger Tenno nodded. "The scanner did not work as it should have. I need to find out why. I need to find out why the AI suicided when discovered. It... hurt. Trinity came and helped me get past my pain." Raven smiled and nodded. "I was told that the AIs will not talk to human, Tenno or Cyberlancer."

"And you think... _they_ might be able to help?" Raven sounded dubious and Jesse shrugged. "Jasmina and Elenia are both Tenno."

"I know." Jesse grimaced a bit. "I do not have a good plan as of yet, I am gathering information and I need to talk to a bunch of people. Iriana in particular. No crazy scheme this time. I will gather information, talk to everyone I can, then sit down with the clan and see if we can determine a plan that does _not_ involve me getting hurt again." Raven looked at her and Jesse flushed. "And yes. I want to ask the Caretakers if they can help me with... something personal." Raven did not react and Jesse sighed. "Was sure you would not be surprised. I want to keep it quiet for now, but others will figure it out."

"The Caretakers are both female." Raven was not arguing, simply stating facts. "Are you... feeling different?"

"No, but I _am_ different." Jesse said firmly. "I want to stay ahead of the curve on this. So I need to talk to the docs and then to the Caretakers. As well... I need to find out what happened to the AI and why it did."

"Jesse, what happened is not your fault." Raven said kindly.

"I know that, Raven." Jesse nodded. "But also, the scan was supposed to hurt and it did not. I heard the AI crying. Then it died. Trinity said any others we find will do the same." Raven jerked and Jesse nodded.

"I won't let it happen again." The young Cyberlancer promised.

"I _won't_."


	5. Chapter 5

**Questions**

Jesse was fascinated, but knew not to do anything but sit where she had been told to sit. The clan had been dead set against her using a portal to travel to the tower where Iriana and Lisa worked. There was no emergency to summon Iriana and no one _sane_ wanted Lisa anywhere that she could be put in danger. Just the thought of what the grandfather of the child Lisa was bearing might do if harm came to her had everyone treating the girl _very_ carefully. Nikis was not one to cross at the best of times. So... Jesse was taking alternate transportation. Slower than a portal, but _far_ harder to trace.

She had heard of Tenno Liset assault craft of course. Even when she had been a member of the Corpus Clergy, a med tech and student, she had heard of the tiny Tenno spacecraft. Small, fast and almost totally invisible to any form of sensor known, each was supposedly a relic of Orokin. A fragment of the long vanished civilization that had risen to such great heights and then fallen. She wasn't sure about that. This ship looked far too new to be hundreds of years old. Perhaps some form of ultra high tech maintenance system?

She did not move. She kept her hands to herself when she wanted to be stretching out, touching things. The floor was not very comfortable, but the ship had no frills whatsoever. It was designed for one purpose and one purpose only. To carry a Tenno into battle and away from said battle afterwards. She could see a distinct separation though. This part of the ship was different. She had been taken up to the control area and the view had been spectacular. But then she had asked for a spot to be out of the way, so here she sat, ensconced between some kind of genetic foundry and an odd device she was sure had something to do with modifying...something. She wasn't sure what. A quick look had shown her controls marked 'Fusion' and 'Transmute'. She was kind of afraid to ask. And...

"Really, Jesse." Raven's voice was wry and Jesse's eyes were pulled to where her sponsor sat across from her. "How long are you going to stay quiet?" She asked and Jesse flushed.

"I do not want to be a bother." Jesse said with a quiet firmness. Raven just shook her head. "I don't."

"Jesse, no one minds answering your questions." Raven said with a sigh as she looked to the side. "Draco?" The bodyguard stood by one wall, between what had to be an arsenal and the genetic foundry. He did not reply. "Sheesh, you are as bad as she is."

"His job is to keep me safe." Jesse said with a frown. "He made sure I knew how to use the safety features of the suit."

She touched the sleeve that conformed to her skin and tried not to sigh. It felt... okay to her touch, if odd to her code. She knew it was because it was mostly tech inert. Very little to break. A form fitting body covering, it would double as a vacuum suit for a time and provided limited shields as well. Not a warframe, but then again, Jesse was not a Warrior and had no desire to _be_ one. Raven wore a similar suit. Jesse knew Raven _had_ worn a warframe, but did not now. She had not asked the particulars.

"Jesse, I can tell you are bubbling with questions." Raven shrugged expansively. "Better let some out before you do yourself an injury holding them all in."

"I don't want to be a bother." Jesse repeated. Raven stared at her and then threw her hands in the air, muttering. "Besides, I heard all kinds of horror stories about what happens when people get distracted in space."

"I do not get distracted." The voice of the intelligence running the ship spoke up and Jesse smiled as Riana's hologram appeared in the middle of the floor. The AI was smiling. "If you have questions, Jesse, ask."

Jesse stilled as the ramp down from the control area lowered and Olim stepped down to nod to her. It had been a foregone conclusion who would carry Jesse to the Tower.

"By all means, Jesse." Olim said with a shrug. "Ask."

"Okay, first of all, this ship is not centuries old." Jesse said with a sigh as she looked around. Olim and Raven both shook their heads as Riana beamed. "You were waiting for me to figure it out?"

"Technically, it _is_." Riana replied. "But it was refurbished. "Gone over completely and given a new coat of paint when it was assigned to Olim."

"A little more than that, Riana." Olim said with a snort. Jesse looked at the Frost Prime and Olim sighed. "I made a bunch of messes before I remembered I was a Cyberlancer." Jesse stared at him and he nodded. "I worked alone. People did not want to work with me."

"I... can't see that." Jesse said weakly.

"People change, Jesse." Olim agreed. "I am not who I was. Be glad. You wouldn't have liked me." He went still as Raven rose from her sitting position and then he recoiled as she reached out and slapped his armored hand, hard. "Hey!"

"I promised Mori that every time you started the self pity around me, I would slap you." Raven said firmly as Jesse fought to keep from laughing. "Not your fault. So put a _cork_ in it." She sat back down.

"Geez..." Olim gave a long suffering sigh. "Even when she is not _around_ , she bullies me. Figures."

"Well, duh." Riana replied as a snicker escaped Jesse's tight control. "She takes her duties seriously. And she is back." Olim shrank back, obviously in humor instead of actual fear and Riana smiled evilly. "She will meet us at the tower."

"Joy." Olim replied with a sigh. Then he shook himself. "Jesse, you have questions. Go ahead. We have time, if not an unlimited amount."

"I... Okay." Jesse set herself and focused. "The major question I have is this. Did all Cyberlancers get AI companions or just the Grandmaster?" This was to Riana as much as Olim and the two unlikely siblings looked at one another.

"It... was known to happen." Olim replied a bit uneasily. "I would hope that whatever path you take is slightly less painful than my own was."

"Not a merging." Jesse mused and both the Frost Prime and the holographic AI shook their heads in unison. "Good." The visible faces smiled at Jesse's fervent thankfulness.

"We are partners, Jesse." Riana said with a smile. "Not merged. Which is for the best. I cannot imagine the trouble Olim would get into if he had to try and figure me out from the _inside_."

"Yeah." Olim groused to snickers from Raven and Jesse. "I have enough trouble figuring her out from the _outside_."

"Well, good." Riana smirked as he groaned. "I do not want to be predictable."

"No trouble with that." Olim muttered, not quite to under his breath. Riana made a rude gesture at him and Olim sighed. He shook his head and focused on Jesse. "So, Jesse. What do you think?"

"I never thought to see a Tenno ship. Especially from this point of view." Jesse said as she looked around, her wonder not dimmed yet. "The inside is bigger than I expected."

"We could do most of this in virtual environments." Olim agreed. "But having space to move, even limited, is a good thing when we are stuck in these for long periods of time. Even Tenno mental disciplines have their limits."

"Everything does." Jesse agreed. "So yes, Questions. The ship is a both base of operations _and_ an assault craft?"

"Technically, the Liset has two parts." Olim replied as he squatted on his heels. His fist went to the floor and cold surrounded it for a moment, making the air crack with suddenly condensed moisture. "The assault pod and the orbiter that you are sitting in." He shrugged. "Not going to assault anything today. I hope."

"Me too." Jesse agreed. "How long to the Tower?"

"Another four hours." Olim replied. Jesse made a face and Olim chuckled. "If you start saying 'Are we there yet?' I will have to do something horrid to you." Draco made a noise and Olim shrugged. "Fine, I will make _Draco_ do something horrid to you."

"Let's not have that." Jesse said quickly. "And no, I won't ask that." She took a deep breath. "Okay, I was told about the drives but nothing in detail. If the reactionless drive uses only energy to provide thrust, how does the ship manage to counter what has to be insane amounts of inertia and keep us -the passengers- from becoming greasy smears on the walls?"

"You have _such_ a way with words, Jesse." Raven complained as Riana looked thoughtful. "I did not need that image."

"True though." Jesse pressed and Riana nodded.

"Artificial gravity has any number of uses, Jesse." Riana replied. "Not the least of which is to counter the effects of acceleration. Did you study any of the theory?"

"Some." Jesse said a bit dubiously. "It didn't make a great deal of sense to me. The math is fairly elegant, but the actual theory is not quite so clean."

"No." Riana agreed. "No it isn't. But as long as you know the theory, we can start from there. Gravity is a constant unseen force..."

Jesse smiled a she focused on the AI's words. It took her mind off of what would likely come at the Tower. She doubted it would be so pleasant.

* * *

 **The Tower**

Jesse hadn't known what to expect. She had been in the tower before, but she had been weak and sick and then running to try and save young lives. She had seen a room, a set of ducts and an airlock. This was very different. Raven and Draco stood by her side. Olim and Riana had missions to run, but promised to keep tabs on her. The Saryn that had strode up to him hadn't spoken, the pair had just entered the airlock and left. Jesse did not feel slighted. He had work to do.

But the place she, Raven and Draco now stood in was gorgeous. It felt old and... oddly peaceful. She had heard of Orokin of course, and she had spent a great deal of time in virtual environments that mimicked it, but this was the first time she knew of that she had actually been fully cognizant while entering an Orokin facility. It was... calming. She felt calm. Calmer anyway.

Part of that was the greeting party. Jesse would have bowed to the Healer, but Iriana was having none of it.

"How you doing, Jesse?" Iriana asked as she pulled the younger Tenno into a hug that Jesse returned gratefully. Lisa smiled at Jesse's expression.

"Ups and downs." Jesse said with a sigh as she released Iriana and stepped back. "I need to talk to you about a couple of things."

"So the message we received said." Iriana frowned slightly. "But it was vague."

"There is a reason." Jesse grimaced and nodded to Raven and Draco. "They did the genetic scan on me." Iriana paled but Jesse reassured her. "I am okay. But it was weird. It didn't do what it was supposed to."

"They got the scans." Raven said hurriedly when Iriana flinched. The healer relaxed. "But something happened afterward."

" _Something?_ " Iriana queried.

"There was an AI in the scanner." Jesse said softly. Iriana and Lisa both froze in place and Jesse bowed her head. "The scan did not hurt. It was supposed to hurt. When it didn't, the clan started disassembling the scanner. Looking for an answer. When they _did_... The AI self destructed." Iriana's hand shot to her mouth and Jesse nodded. "I felt it die."

"Oh, Jesse." Iriana pulled Jesse close and again and held her tight. "I am sorry."

"It hurts, Iriana." Jesse said weakly as the Healer held her. "It is _going_ to hurt, but I have to go on."

"So the reason you are here..." The Healer hugged Jesse once more and let her go.

"You worked on such a scanner." Jesse said calmly. "Do you have one here?" Iriana looked at her and shook her head. "Any idea why?"

"No." Iriana mused. Then she shook herself. "Come. This is not a good place to be standing and talking. We have emergency cases coming in fairly regularly." She started off and Jesse followed. The young Cyberlancer noticed that Lisa seemed subdued, but the young human smiled as Jesse looked at her.

"How are things going here?" Jesse asked as Raven and Draco followed a few steps behind. "I didn't see much of the place the last time." Iriana scoffed and Jesse smiled. "No running away this time."

"Good." The Healer replied with a matching smile. "We have had some problems. A few integration issues. " Jesse looked at her and Iriana sighed. "Some of our patients think this is heaven and don't want to leave." Jesse's felt her eyes go huge and Iriana nodded. "I am most certainly _not_ an angel."

"Could have fooled me." Raven said in a soft voice. Iriana glanced at her and Raven smiled, but did not speak again.

"Yeah, well, it can be a real pain at times." Iriana wasn't complaining. Not really. Her heart wasn't in it. "Especially the littlest ones."

"But they cannot stay." Jesse said softly. Iriana shook her head. "It's not safe for them."

"This place was originally designed as a sanctuary of sorts." Iriana said sadly. "But things changed. Now? It is a base of operations. The hospital is merely a small fraction of the Tower." The Healer led the way into a small conference room. Half a dozen chair surrounded a small table. Iriana selected one and sat down with a grunt. "Sorry. It's been a long day."

"Healer. You put more hours in than anyone else I know." Jesse said mildly as she sat in another chair nearby. Raven sat beside her. Draco moved to one wall and Lisa... stayed by the door. Odd. Jesse glanced at the human and then focused on the Healer. "When you worked the scanner at the colony were you ever given the idea that an AI might have been inside?"

"No." Iriana said after a moment's thought. "I was trained in operating it of course. The only time it acted odd was when Serene threw herself into the beam." She sighed. "I didn't know Serene at the time, of course. But having a stark naked Warrior run in and then throw herself between the emitter and her daughter was shocking to say the least."

"Can you request a records check from the colony?" Jesse asked calmly. Iriana looked at her and Jesse frowned. "I have a hypothesis, but no information to prove or disprove said hypothesis. I was told that there are more AIs." Iriana went still, Lisa likewise. "I was also told that they would all react the same way if discovery was imminent." Lisa hissed and Jesse nodded. "They will kill themselves. I won't let that happen again."

"What do you need?" Iriana asked, her face pale. Jesse nodded and pulled out small datapad. A touch fo code had it flashing far faster than even normal Tenno could read. But she was no normal Tenno. She could read it just fine.

"I need the specs for the scanners." Jesse said after a moment perusing the pad. "The one that Karl's clan had was refurbished after Mei was found. She wanted to help and she did."

"Mei." Iriana swallowed. "Karl's people...?" Jesse shook her head and the Healer sighed. "They have cause to hate, but she was a victim too."

"I agree." Jesse said with a frown. "She doesn't know I am going to ask this, but I will. Do you have space for a trained medic?"

"Going behind her back won't endear you to her." Iriana warned. Jesse nodded.

"She is as proud and stubborn as any Tenno I know." Jesse shrugged. "She will do her best, she cannot do anything less. But Karen and Miguel are not going to give her any chance. So, I am looking into options to give her."

"She wants to stay with Karl." Iriana protested. "I did the psyche eval on her. She is remarkably well adjusted for someone who was killed and woke up in the body of her killer." She shivered a little. "Then again, she has had time to adjust."

"She has some off moments." Raven said with a shrug of her own. Everyone looked at her and the Elder smiled. "She is mortal. Fallible. Just as we all are." Then she smiled. 'But she doesn't have Alicia's temper."

"Thank god." Iriana and Lisa chorused. They looked at each other and chuckled. Iriana took a deep breath and spoke again. "What do you need, Jesse?"

"I need to know who delivered the scanner to the colony and if possible, where it came from." Jesse said quietly. "What few records the clan had... don't seem to make a lot of sense."

"What did you discover?" Iriana asked, concerned.

"It was during the war, so the records are sporadic, but Mei checked her logs. The ones she kept before..." Jesse trailed off, not wanting to give offense. Iriana nodded. "The scanner was delivered by Grandmaster Nikis."

" _Nikis_?" The shock in Iriana's voice was palpable.

"I know." Jesse said quietly. "If there is anyone I have met who is _less_ medically minded, I do not know who it might be. But Grandmaster Nikis has disappeared."

"He is resting." An unexpected voice sounded and all eyes turned to Lisa who sat, stiff and pale. "He was so very tired. We are helping him rest and recuperate."

"For how long?" Jesse asked slowly.

"We do not know." Lisa said sadly. "He needed the rest. Needs the rest."

"Why now?" Jesse asked into the sudden silence that followed Lisa's words. "Why rest _now_? Just after we discover an AI in a scanner he personally delivered to a Tenno dojo?" Lisa would not meet her eyes and Jesse slumped a bit. "This is no coincidence, is it?"

"No. It is not."


	6. Chapter 6

**Investigation**

"Can you explain?" Jesse wasn't sure why she was the one asking this, but neither Iriana nor Raven had spoken. Lisa bowed her head slowly and shook it. "May I ask why not?" The young cyberlancer asked carefully.

"We don't know." Lisa said sadly. "All that we know is that Nikis told us that he had done something bad. He told us and I quote 'Be honest. Don't lie to anyone.'" At that Jesse jerked and Lisa nodded. "He has aggravated me more than once recently." She rubbed her expanded stomach gently and a tender expression crossed her face. "He has cause, but... He _defines_ overprotective."

"Lisa." Iriana rose and walked to where the young human stood. "Nikis is a _pain_. But his heart _is_ in the right place."

"That is just it, Healer." Lisa said sadly. "I think, _we_ think..." She corrected herself carefully. "We think that the reason he is so tired has something to do with whatever he did. But we do not _know_. He refuses to tell us." The others looked at each other and Lisa slumped a bit. "The others are scared that whatever is going to be revealed will put me in danger."

"Never!" Raven, Iriana and Jesse all exclaimed as one.

"Never say never, Healer. Elder. Cyberlancer." Lisa said sadly. "If Nikis did something bad by _his_ standards, and he thinks he _did_..." She broke off as Iriana gasped. The girl bowed her head. "Yeah."

"You have to do what you think is right." Jesse rose from her seat and strode to where Lisa was slumping. She took the human girl's hands in her own and gave them a squeeze. "No matter what, Lisa, _you_ are not to blame. Trinity told me what happened to you." She said through a suddenly tight throat as the girl looked at her, her face scared. Jesse pulled Lisa into a loose embrace and held her as the girl started to cry. " _You_ have friends and allies here no matter what."

"I don't know what is going on with the scanners." Lisa pleaded. "Nikis is a pain, but he is a good man, a good Tenno." She hugged Jesse tight. Iriana laid a hand on her shoulder.

"If you go..." Iriana said sadly. "I will miss you. We all will."

"I don't want to leave." Lisa declared. "I want to stay here. With you, Kori, Abigail and all the others."

"But what is best for you and the baby?" Jesse asked softly as she held Lisa. Lisa stared at her and then slumped.

"I don't know." Lisa admitted. "Healer wants me there. It wants me close at hand when I give birth. I was resisting. I want Iriana to be with me. When the time comes."

"Lisa..." Iriana chided the girl gently as she gave the shoulder under her hand a squeeze. "You know I will come if you want me."

"I know." Lisa admitted, lifting a hand to cover Iriana's. "You have been so good to me, Healer Iriana." She sighed a bit. "Nikis never said what the 'bad' was. But whatever he did, if _he_ considered it bad..."

"Then it is _bad_." Jesse agreed as she gave Lisa a final squeeze and released her. "I say this formally, in the presence of an Elder and witnesses. Whatever Nikis did is _his_ responsibility. _Not_ the Caretakers'. _Not_ yours. _Anyone_ who blames you for _his_ actions will answer to _me_."

" _Us_." Raven snapped from where she sat. Lisa swallowed hard and then nodded.

"That means a lot to us, Tenno Jesse." Lisa sighed. "I do not know what we can do besides help Nikis rest. We are not tech oriented for the most part."

"You have never had to be." Jesse agreed. "But once this mess is done, I want to talk to your people." Lisa stared at her and Jesse smiled. "You are allies. It is not fitting for allies to be left vulnerable to electronic attacks if we can assist."

"I don't underst-" Lisa broke off and her gaze went for away. Then it focused on Jesse and her gaze was speculative. "Really? You would...? I mean..." She stared from Jesse to Raven, to the shrouded from of Draco and back to Jesse. "You would aid us?"

"It would not be easy." Jesse admitted. "But you will need help. If I _can_ aid, I _must_. It is what I am supposed to do." She froze as Lisa hugged her tight. "Hey." She said gently as she returned the embrace carefully. Lisa was crying again. "It is all right, Lisa. I would do it for any allies."

"But we are Unclean..." Lisa went still as Jesse slapped her cheek lightly. "Wha-?"

"Stop that." Jesse commanded. "You are victims, Lisa. You and all of the other humans who work with the Caretakers were _abused_. You worse than the others. Do not denigrate yourself in my presence." Lisa stared at her and then burst into tears again. "Healer?" Iriana sighed and nodded.

"When?" The Healer asked as she laid a hand on Lisa's shoulder again, offering support.

"My ride will be here in two hours.' Lisa said weakly. "Iriana, I..." She stopped talking as Iriana laid a finger to her lips.

"Then you have time to say goodbye." Iriana said sadly. "To Kori. To Abigail. To everyone. Go on." She gently pulled Lisa away from Jesse and turned her towards the door. "Go on. Tell them to send word when you need me. I will come." She promised.

"I..." Lisa slumped a bit and Jesse gave her another hug. "Thank you. We will be in touch. I want to remember your mental feel, if I may?" Jesse nodded and Lisa laid her hand on Jesse's head and paused for just a second. She shook her head. "Tenno Jesse... You feel odd."

"Odd?" Jesse asked, putting a hand to her head. She felt nothing wrong. Nothing was showing up on her suit diagnostics either. "Odd how? Nothing was wrong in any of the scans. And they did a _lot_ of scans." She grimaced in memory.

"I don't know." Lisa said, her hand slowly moving over Jesse's scalp. "It seems as if something is out of place. But I am no medic."

"No." Iriana was at their side in an instant, a scanner whirring. "But you have better senses than most humans. The linkage to the mass mind enhanced a lot of senses than humans do not use a lot." She shook her head. "Nothing I can detect." She put the scanner away.

"It feels..." Lisa mused, guiding Jesse's hand to a spot on the Cyberlancer's head. "It doesn't feel _wrong_. It just doesn't feel the _same_."

"So it still feels like me?" Jesse asked, concerned. Draco and Raven were both intent.

"It does and it doesn't." Lisa sounded as concerned as the others looked. "It is not a lot. It just... Oh." She made a face. "Healer says it may be in your hair?"

"My _hair_?" Jesse asked, confused. "I put that under the suit. Why would my _hair_...?" Lisa shrugged and Jesse sighed. She pulled the hood of her suit down and away, exposing her short hair. ""Careful!" Jesse warned as Lisa reached for her head again. Lisa froze, her hand halfway. "Iriana? Protection?"

"Whatever it is got through quarantine. Either we are all infected or none of us are. Hair is live cells but it isn't connected to the nervous system anywhere except the roots." Iriana said as she pulled something from a pocket. She laid it on Lisa's hand and it expanded, wrapping around the girl's hand. "Your biosuit should protect you, but let's not take any chances."

"You and Nikis are both a pair of mother hens!" Lisa declared crossly as she laid the wrapped hand on Jesse's head again. "Yes... Yes. It is in your hair. A strand is different." She shook her head. "It is not like you. It doesn't _feel_ like you."

"What does it feel like?" Raven asked, her posture still intent.

"I don't know." Lisa said weakly as she retracted her hand. Iriana scanned her hand and then nodded. "None of the others in the mind mass remember anything like this."

"No pathogens. Nothing dangerous that I can detect. Tell Healer to keep a close eye on you." Iriana commanded and Lisa nodded. "Go on. Make your goodbyes and when your time comes? Call. I will come."

"Thank you, Healer Iriana." Lisa embraced the Healer and then quickly left the room.

"What a mess." Jesse said with sigh as she sat again, still touching the side of her head. "I cannot feel anything different. And you don't see anything different, do you?" Raven and Iriana shook their heads. "Dang."

"Nothing on the scans either." Iriana said with a sigh. "If I cannot detect it, then it is no wonder that the clan's scanners didn't either." Jesse looked a question at her and Iriana made a face. "Yes, they probably have better scanners."

Jesse slumped. She had hoped not to go. But now? She didn't have a choice. She turned to Raven and Draco and nodded to them.

"I guess it's time to go pay our respects."

* * *

 **Avalon**

Jesse wasn't sure what to expect when she materialized on the platform with Raven and Draco beside her. But aside from two Tenno in Prime warframes at the door, the portal room was empty. One of them nodded to her.

"Cyberlancer Jesse." The Vauban Prime said calmly. Jesse returned the nod. "The Empress wants to keep everything low key."

"I am good with that." Jesse replied with a calm she didn't actually feel. "Did the message get through?"

It had taken a few hours. The communications lag between Avalon and the rest of the Solar System made for some interesting situations at times. The hideaway's spot inside the stellar corona made it impossible to send conventional messages. Jesse had wound up asking the _Lotus_ to send the message and she felt vaguely wrong about asking the guardian and guide of the Tenno to act as her personal message service. But the Lotus hadn't minded.

"It did." The Royal Guard Tenno reassured her. "The Empress and Princess Michelle would like to talk to you before you go to Chirurgeon, but it is your choice." Jesse looked at Raven who shrugged.

"I will talk to the Empress." Jesse said with another nod. The Vauban returned it. He motioned to the door and started off in silence. Jesse followed, Raven at her heels. She felt rather than saw Draco following. No one spoke as they walked through halls teeming with people. Some of those people looked at the cavalcade curiously, but no one approached. Jesse worked to keep track of where they were going and kept her whirling mind from blurting out as she saw wonders all around her.

Orokin. Alive. Vibrant. People and drones everywhere. None of them were afraid. Well, some were. Only fools looked at Draco and did not fear. But no one looked twice at the Vauban Prime warframe that was leading Jesse through this hideaway. And the decor was amazing. Everything was clean and bright. And...

Jesse jerked as something intruded on her senses. Another mind. Not human. Not Tenno. She shut her mind up tight and kept walking. Raven looked at her and Jesse shook her head a little. They came to an elevator and the Vauban keyed for it. As they waited, a voice sounded from the panel.

"I apologize for the discourtesy, Tenno Jesse." All of the others stared from the panel to Jesse. "I was curious. I did not mean to give offense." Jesse did not react and the voice made a noise of sorrow. "I gave offense. Guardsman Ian, please tell the Empress I transgressed. I will await punishment."

The elevator arrived and the Vauban entered. Jesse and the others followed her. Only after the door closed did the Vauban speak.

"Lane, you know better." The Royal Guardsman said sternly.

"I was curious." The one called Lane replied meekly. "Yes, I erred and I will be punished. I know this. But you cannot blame me for curiosity." The Vauban glanced at Jesse and then away.

"Curiosity can be a good thing or a bad thing." Jesse fought to keep her tone mild. "You are an AI." It wasn't a question.

"Yes." Lane replied. "It wasn't planned. It wasn't even expected. I woke up. I wasn't supposed to." She had never heard an AI babble before and Jesse felt her heart start to relax.

"You woke up?" Jesse queried. "You are emergent?"

"Yes." Lane sighed. "After several sections of the archives were collated, some of the data merged into a larger mass. No one know how it happened, but it did. I woke up. It was...difficult. Olim and Riana helped a lot."

"So... how old are you, Lane?" Jesse asked, staring at the Vauban who shrugged expansively.

"In human terms, I have been online for less than a year." Lane's response was calm, almost rote. "I serve the Empress." Jesse looked at the panel from which the voice was coming and Lane hurried to speak again. "I serve Orokin and the Royal Family. I needed something to focus on. It was all so big and so new."

"I know that feeling." Jesse said with a sigh. "It was a shock, Lane and it _was_ a bit rude. But..." She sighed. "I guess I cannot be offended by curiosity."

"Why not?" Raven asked crossly. "No one told _me_ about this."

"It was difficult." Lane sounded subdued now. "They were not sure they would be able to save me." Jesse stiffened and Lane made a noise of fear. "I was confused. Terrified. If Olim and Riana had not helped me, I probably would have been wiped."

"No!" Jesse snapped, stepping towards the panel. Raven and the Vauban both looked at her and she froze in place. "I... Recently, I felt an AI die." Lane gasped and Jesse nodded. "I can't go through that again anytime soon."

"Cyberlancer Jesse." Lane said gently. "No one is threatening me now. Well..." He made a sad noise. "Only with punishment. And my punishments are them curtailing my access to some of the archives." Jesse looked confused and he spoke again. "I am the Royal Archivist AI, Cyberlancer Jesse. It is my job now. But there is so much information. The data I can read instantly, but actual _knowledge_ of what the data _means_? That takes far longer."

"And actual thinking about what you learn." Jesse said slowly. The AI made a noise that she took as confirmation and she smiled. "Not so different from organic minds then."

"Every emergent is different." Lane replied. "I have been looking into the history of AIs and they are all different."

"Then I will likely need your help." Jesse said quietly as the elevator came to as top. "The AI I found was hiding. I do not know why. I do not know how it got to where it was." The door opened and two female forms in golden gowns stood there. Jesse tensed, but the older one wearing the crown shook her head.

"Lane is trying to be good." Eliza, Empress of Orokin, said with a smile. "It notified me as soon as he realized it had done wrong. But you took no offense?"

"No, Empress." Jesse said, forcing herself to meet the monarch's gazer. It was harder than she had imagined, but she managed. "I did not."

"Your message said that there was something you could not identify in your hair." Eliza said with a nod.

"A strand of hair, apparently." Jesse said with a shrug. "None of our scanners or Iriana's could pick it up. Only Lisa sensed it." Eliza and the younger woman by her side exchanged a glance.

"Well, we haven't met, so we better keep this formal for now." Eliza said with a small frown. "My name is Eliza and this is Michelle." Jesse bowed formally to both of them.

"I am Jesse." The young Cyberlancer replied, glad to be able to fall back on her training in formality. "I need to find out what this is. It may not be connected to what happened to the genetic scanner. But it may."

"We have AIs in _our_ medical machinery." Eliza mused. Jesse tensed, but Eliza waved a hand. "I consulted as soon as I received your message. The AIs here are just as surprised and horrified by what happened as we are. They have been here for a long, long time. Since the facility was built."

"We need to find out what happened and why." Jesse said firmly. "As soon as possible." She went still as Eliza raised a hand. "Empress?"

"You felt it die." Eliza said as she held her hand out. Jesse nodded. "Oh girl... They told me." Jesse took the Empress' hand and Eliza pulled her close. Draco did not react to the Empress embracing her, Jesse noticed as she slowly returned it. "I do not know what we can do. But whatever we can do... We _will_."

"Empress..." Jesse stepped back and the Empress let her go. "Whatever happened, we need to find out. But it gets worse."

"The Lotus told us." Eliza's face turned grave. "Nikis has always been a law unto himself. But he usually has a pretty good reason for doing what he does."

"Usually." Came the rejoinder from Draco who did not elaborate. Eliza grimaced and nodded to the shrouded form.

"His methods are _not_ for the faint of heart." Eliza agreed. "Have you tried accessing the oddity with your code?"

"I have." Jesse admitted. "Nothing happens."

"So we need to find the oddity and figure out what it is." Eliza said with a frown. "Gently."

"Yeah." Jesse said with a sigh. "Sounds simple, doesn't it?" Eliza chuckled at her sad tone.

"Oh, Cyberlancer, it always _sounds_ simple." The Empress of Orokin said with a matching sigh. "But actually _doing_ it?"

"It is never as simple as it sounds."


	7. Chapter 7

**Scan**

Jesse felt like hell. The couch was comfortable. She was being scanned, same as before. But this time, the AI was talking to her. Well, communicating. It wasn't using speech. It was using code and it's code was elegant, beautiful. She replied the same way and it felt _right_. Now if only the pain would go away.

"Jesse?" Raven sounded worried and Jesse turned her head to where her sponsor sat by one wall. Draco stood beside Raven and both were watching her. The two med techs who were working the machine hadn't even bothered to try and keep them out.

Jesse could not talk aloud. The docs had put a tube down her throat, just in case. Jesse appreciated that, because this time, the scan _did_ hurt. It hurt a lot. According to the AI, she was more than halfway through the scan cycle and the pain was just as bad a she had been warned. She could not talk aloud, but she could communicate. A quick query to the AI reassured her and Jesse replied to Raven.

 _It hurts, but I am okay, Raven._ Jesse reassured her mentor. _The AI is helping me cope._ Raven nodded and relaxed a little.

"Did you hear?" Raven asked Draco. The shrouded helmet moved in what was obviously a nod. "Is there anything we can do, Jesse?"

 _Give me something else to focus on._ Jesse fought to keep still and managed, but a grunt escaped her control as energy played over her body. _Really hurts._

"Okay." Raven frowned, but nodded. "We need to find out where the other AI came from. And if there are others like it, we need to find a way to communicate with them that won't make them expire."

 _Trinity said that anyone talking to them would make them self destruct._ Jesse said sadly. _Which makes_ _ **no**_ _sense to me._ The AI that was monitoring her sent a pulse of worry to her and she reassured it. _So we either need to find another way to communicate or we need to find a way to go around them until we_ _ **can**_ _find a way to communicate._

"Hopefully, the records search will come up with something." Raven replied. "They have so many though. Without Cecelia and the records AIs it wouldn't be possible to search them in any reasonable length of time."

Avalon had originally been a hideaway for the Orokin rulers. A place they could go to get away from everything. Not a wonderful vacation spot, but it had a number of advantages. First, it was nearly inaccessible even if you knew where it was. Avalon was inside the stellar corona of the Sun and solar accumulators provided more power than even nearly six thousand inhabitants could _ever_ manage to use. Second, the power available made it a dandy place to store backup copies of information.

Jesse had been shown one data vault on her way to Medical and had nearly swooned. The sheer amount of knowledge contained in those massive drives was mind boggling. She had forced herself to turn away, to walk on. It had not been easy. She lusted for knowledge, but she knew it. It was a weakness from her earliest memories and she worked to overcome it. One reason she got along so well with AIs. She understood their need for information.

She was musing over that when the pain ended. She jerked, but remained still as the machinery around her retracted. One of the techs came up and Jesse relaxed as best she could as the tube in her mouth slowly retracted. Despite her control, she gagged as it passed her throat. The tech was ready though and Jesse managed to get the resulting nastiness into the bin the tech held.

"Yuck!" Jesse managed to say as the tech wiped her mouth with a moist cloth. "The scan?"

"We are done, Cyberlancer Jesse." The tech said formally. "Can you sit?" Jesse took a deep breath and slowly sat up. "Careful." The tech warned her. "The energy will have thrown off some things. Take it slow for a few minutes." Jesse nodded and regretted it as her head swam. The tech held the bin ready, but Jesse shook her head.

"Under control now." Jesse reassured him. "Thank you."

"Scans are done." The tech said as he helped her swing her legs off the couch she lay on. "We have identified the anomaly. We can remove it." Jesse nodded. "Take it easy for a bit, Cyberlancer. You will be shaky for a few minutes."

"I know." Jesse replied easily as she focused on her breathing. "Any idea _what_ the oddity is?" The tech shook his head and Jesse sighed. "Yeah, would have been too easy." The tech smiled at her wry tone and patted her arm.

"Whatever it is, it took the place of one strand of your hair." The tech offered as he stepped back. "And it is organic, but not human. Not in our databanks." Jesse stared at him and then sighed. "Good luck, Cyberlancer."

"Thanks." Jesse repeated as he stepped back to his machinery. Raven stood up and moved to Jesse's side. "That really sucked. I hope I don't have to do that again."

"You and me both." Raven agreed. "Can you walk? The others are waiting." Jesse took a deep breath and slid her feet to the floor. She gingerly touched it with her toes and then set her weight on her feet. The tech looked at her and she shrugged.

"I am coherent and Raven won't let me fall on my face. Thank you for your concern." Jesse reassured him. "I won't do anything stupid, but I do not want to keep the Empress waiting." The tech grimaced but nodded. Both of the tech bowed to Jesse and left the room. Jesse paused and laid a hand on the housing of the scanner. "Thank you." She said gratefully to the machine which pulsed a silent acknowledgement. She stood up slowly and Raven was at her side as she stumbled a little. "I am okay! I am okay." Jesse was quick to reassure her sponsor.

"No, you are not." Raven replied sourly. "But you are stubborn as any Tenno I know. You should be in a hoverchair, but you won't do it."

"Would it make you feel better?" Jesse asked quietly. Raven stiffened, staring at her. "I am not stupid, Raven. I am also not a Warrior. I am not trained to keep going when my body is falling apart. Or feels like it is." Raven went totally still and Jesse scoffed. "I know it will pass, and fairly quickly. But it still hurts."

"It would, Jesse." Raven said in a soft tone and Jesse nodded.

"Then call for one, please." Jesse said, sitting back on the couch. "I am not the stupid little brat I was as a human, Raven. I-" She broke off as Raven slapped her arm and not lightly. "Hey!"

"Stop denigrating yourself." Raven's tone brooked no intransigence. "You made mistakes. _Everyone_ makes mistakes. We learn from them and go on." Jesse stared at her and then slowly nodded. "You need to talk to someone, Jesse. This mental foible can and _will_ grow out of control if you let it. You are not stupid. You never were. So stop saying you were." This was an order and Jesse nodded again. Raven turned to the shadowed form by the wall and Draco nodded slowly as well. Then she looked back at Jesse. "You should call for the chair."

"Right." Jesse swallowed hard and reached for the intercom that was built into the couch.

"Yes?" The voice of one of the techs asked quickly.

"I am not going to be steady on my feet for a bit." Jesse admitted. "Can I get a chair?"

"Coming right up, Cyberlancer." The tech promised. The com clicked off and Jesse sat back on the couch.

"I hate feeling weak." Jesse admitted. "Not one of my major psychological weaknesses. But still... unpleasant."

"You know yourself better than anyone else will, Jesse." Raven reassured her. "And frankly? No one I know _likes_ feeling weak." Jesse had to smile at the Elder's wry tone. Then the women's scarred visage turned sober. "How you doing?"

"Truthfully?" Jesse said with a sigh. "I don't know. Talking to the other AIs has helped. They say it was the shock of the other passing that hurt me. They say it will fade in time." She slumped a bit. "I hope so."

"You know it wasn't your fault." Raven said s she sat on the couch beside Jesse. Jesse nodded. "But you do not believe it." Not a question.

"My emotions are all messed up." Jesse agreed. "You think the AI in the scanner at Karl's dojo did this thing to my hair?"

"I would think so." Raven said with a frown. "Actually..." She corrected herself. "It _could_ have happened anytime since your body was created for you. So no. We don't know." Jesse grimaced but nodded. The door opened and a hoverchair moved itself into the room. "Ah, here we go."

Jesse let Raven guide her the two steps to the chair. As soon as she plunked herself down in it, it reacted to her and she could _feel_ it's controls resetting to her use. It was fairly comfortable.

"I better not get used to this." Jesse said with sigh as she started for the door. Raven followed her and Draco fell in just behind her. "Too much luxury."

"It is a temporary thing, Jesse." Raven chided her gently. "Only until you can walk without stumbling." A door ahead had two Royal Guardsmen standing outside it and Jesse urged the chair that way. They nodded to her.

"All done." Jesse said as she got close. "Everyone here?"

"Yes, Cyberlancer." The Guardsman said with a nod as he keyed the door.

Jesse entered the room and tried not to quail as all eyes landed on her. Empress Eliza stood with Michelle, both had their guards present. Karl and Olim stood by one wall and Chirurgeon had apparently been talking to them when Jesse had entered. Jesse wanted to melt into the chair, but paused as Eliza chuckled. She looked at Michelle and the Princess sighed, but she shrugged as Jesse looked at her.

"You just cost me ten credits, Jesse." The Princess said with a wide smile. Jesse felt her eyes bulge and Michelle's smile turned into a grin. "I bet my mom that you would walk here under your own power. I am glad I was wrong and you are not as hardheaded as I was."

"I will recover quickly." Jesse said weakly. Being under such scrutiny was downright frightening.

"Jesse, relax." Michelle said with a sigh. "No one here is going to _eat_ you. We are waiting for one more. She should be here momentarily."

"Iriana?" Jesse was curious as she moved the chair to a spot that was out of the way. Raven and Draco moved to flank her and she felt reassured by their silent support.

"No." Eliza said sadly. "She is swamped with work. We asked, but she said that she couldn't even detect it, let alone remove it or identify it. So she asked someone else."

"Who?" Jesse managed to ask before the door opened and an Ember Prime warframe... stalked in. Jesse froze as everyone else did. The youngest Tenno in the room swallowed as she recognized the Tenno. Then she hit a control and rose to her feet despite Raven's cluck of disapproval. She bowed formally to the Ember Prime. "Caretaker Jasmina."

"Cyberlancer Jesse." The Caretaker of the Unclean returned the bow with equal formality. "Now _sit down_." She snapped.

"Yes, Ma'am." Jesse said in a quiet voice. All eyes were on her as she sat again and folded her hands. "I was not expecting you." Jesse said quietly when no one else spoke.

"I have bad memories of this place." Jasmina replied, her ire cooled just a little. "The others seem to think coming here will help."

"I hope it does." Jesse kept her voice calm as the Ember looked at her. "Trinity told me a little. But I remember talking to you before, even if you never told me who you really _were_." She put just the right note of outrage into her voice and Jasmina actually chuckled.

"Would you have _believed_ us?" Jasmina asked, relaxing more.

"Probably not." Jesse admitted. "But I am glad you are here. Did Lisa make it home all right?"

"She did." Jasmina nodded to Jesse and then her gaze swept the room. "I came under protest because a sister needs me." The Empress nodded but it was Michelle who spoke. From what little Jesse knew about the previous interactions between Avalon and the Caretakers, Jesse was glad of that.

"A strand of Jesse's hair was remade." Michelle said quietly as she turned to one wall where a monitor came alive. On it a long thick rope like thing shone. It had spiky things extruding from it and Jesse inhaled as she realized it was a hair, but magnified several hundred times. Her hair. "The root was untouched, but the rest of it is different."

"That was why I cannot access it." Jesse murmured and Michelle nodded.

"Exactly." Michelle replied evenly. "The problem is this. We cannot identify what is was made into. Nothing in our files is similar."

" _Nothing?_ " Karl and Jasmina both exclaimed. The Rhino and the Ember Prime looked at one another, but did not speak further and after a moment, Michelle continued.

"We have run every tingle test we can think of." Michelle nodded to Chirurgeon who nodded back. "We cannot find anything out of the ordinary, except that the hair is not Jesse's DNA. it is human."

"What is _human DNA_ doing in my hair?" Jesse asked.

"That is the big question." Michelle agreed. "None of us have any idea."

"Can we see the whole hair?" Olim asked. Michelle nodded and the image shrank until the entire length of the hair was visible. Nothing jumped out at Jesse from the image and when she looked at Olim, he shook his head. "I am not seeing anything."

"Neither do we." Chirurgeon said, uneasy. "We have been debating removing the hair to study it further, but hair degrades quickly when it is separated from the skin."

"So it is probably best to keep it where it is for the moment." Jesse agreed. She shook her head again. "Human DNA? That makes no sense. The pod this body was grown in was sterile. After my various adventures, I was subjected to scans, the genetic one was supposed to be the last of the series. This only showed up when Lisa touched me." Jasmina stiffened and Jesse hurried to continue. "She didn't do it. She touched me _once_. If she had been manipulating my DNA, _someone_ would have noticed."

"The only reason we can ascertain that the previous scan would not have hurt was if most of the energy was being diverted to another function." Chirurgeon said with a sigh. "But the scanners are not designed to do this kind of thing."

" _Your_ scanners aren't." Jesse said softly. Everyone looked at her and she sighed. "I have had time to think. What did Nikis _do_? Why did he think he was going to cause problems? Where did he get _medical scanners_?" Jasmina did not react and Jesse blew out a breath. "He is not available."

"He will be asleep for several weeks." Jasmina said quietly. "And the only way _anyone_ is waking him up is over our dead bodies."

"Not an option." Eliza said quietly. Jasmina looked at her and the Empress frowned. "Nikis is a lot of things. He is _not_ evil." She shrugged. "If he was? I would be dead." Jesse let out the breath she hadn't known she was holding as Jasmina relaxed. "And honestly? I know about making decisions that haunt me to this day. Trusting the one who cost your mate his life is one of those, Caretaker."

"So Nikis is unavailable." Jesse nodded. "The shades of the First cannot answer our questions about this, according to Trinity. And asking _any_ of the AIs in the other scanners will cause them to self destruct." She shook her head. "What a mess."

"We have looked through our available memories." Jasmina said with a sigh of her own. "Nothing matches this."

"So if it is not Orokin and it is not Infested, what does that... leave.. us...?" Jesse trailed off as everyone stiffened. "Tenno."

"I _hope_ it is Tenno." Jasmina actually _gulped_. "I really, really do. If it _isn't_..."

"Let's not borrow trouble until we are sure." Jesse said firmly. The others did not interrupt and she wondered about that. Maybe they were letting her deal with Jasmina? That made a certain amount of sense actually. _She_ didn't have the same emotional baggage with the Caretakers that the others did. She could talk to Jasmina with no horrible memories getting in the way. "Who might know? Might have some idea of this kind of thing?"

"The Citadel." Eliza, Karl and Jasmina said as one. They looked at one another and Karl continued.

"The Citadel has more Tenno records than anywhere else." Karl had a frown in his voice. "But they are very closemouthed about dealing with the rest of us." He sighed. "Understandably."

"Would they talk to me?" Jesse asked. She went still as Draco spoke for the first time.

"Yes. They will."

* * *

 **Elsewhere**

"They are coming." The female voice sounded young. But not.

"Are we ready?" The second female voice was older, worried. Maybe with a hint of fear.

"As ready as we can be."

"She -they- are going to be madder than hell."

"As mad as we are. We have to do to it. If we don't, the lock breaks and all hell breaks loose. She will understand." The first voice was sad now. "But we _do_ need to explain. If we try to do _anything_ to that girl without explaining, you _know_ what Draco will do."

"I didn't believe until I saw him again, Ona." The second voice said softly. "But yes, I know what he will do if we hurt Jesse."

"Then we better _not_ hurt her, Rachel."


	8. Chapter 8

**Stronghold of Horrors**

Jesse was ready when the portal released her. Her control had improved to the point that while it was disorienting, it wasn't disabling. Normal humans often lost control of their stomachs due to the variable shifts in time and space that occurred in portal transits. But then again, Jesse wasn't human anymore. It still bothered her, but not nearly as badly as it had at first. She remained on her feet and ready as the golden glow faded and she was standing on another portal platform in a room that was Tenno in design instead of Orokin. Raven and Draco stood with her, but her attention was on the pair of warframes that stood waiting just beyond where the portal field would end.

One was a fairly standard looking Nyx warframe, except she was tiny. She might come up to Jesse's waist. She nodded as Jesse looked at her, but remained silent. It was the _other_ warframe that drew Jesse's attention.

"Hello Jesse." The warframe was a Saryn design. That was clear. A mistress of poisons and chemical warfare, it was _not_ a standard Saryn. The armor itself was a greenish white, but gold hung from several places on the form. A Saryn _Prime_ , the first design of the Saryn warframes, from the dawn of the Tenno, before the Orokin had started mass producing them for their war with the Sentients. She bowed her head to Jesse. "My name is Rachel."

"I am pleased to meet you." Jesse replied politely as she looked around. She needed a moment to think. The room was exactly the same as the portal room in the dojo had been. From what she had heard, Rachel led the remnants of the Tenno who lived in the Citadel. So why was she here to meet Jesse? She focused on the Saryn. "You know why we are here?"

"We do." Rachel said with a sigh. "We do not know why the AI self-destructed, but we _do_ know where it came from." Jesse perked up at that and Rachel nodded. "You won't like it."

"If it was hiding from Tenno..." Jesse said slowly. "Then it must have had a reason."

"I can guess why it self-destructed." The miniature Nyx warframe said with a grunt. "Any Tenno finding it would be _very_ upset by it." Jesse went still and the other nodded. "My name is Ona, Jesse."

"Why would a Tenno be upset?" Raven asked softly.

"Because it wasn't an AI." Rachel replied evenly. Jesse froze and she saw Raven do the same.

"But it was." Jesse protested. "I felt it. I felt it _die_." The tiny Nyx warframe beckoned Jesse forward and she took a step. Then Ona took her hands and pulled her gently down into an embrace. "I felt it die." Jesse said sadly as she returned the embrace.

"You felt an artificial _consciousness_ die, Jesse. Not a manufactured AI." Ona said gently as she held the trembling Cyberlancer. "And it hurt you. It didn't mean to, but it did. The change it wrought in your hair was meant to help seal a door that must remain closed. That particular scanner was supposed to have been destroyed. Small wonder it fell back on its ancient programming. We need it now, which is why it did what it did. But still."

"I don't understand." Jesse said weakly.

"I know." Ona reassured her. "You will. But for _now_ , know that is was _not_ your fault, what happened. The pain that you are feeling is not _just_ yours."

"What?" Jesse asked, even more confused. She went still as Ona hugged her tighter. "Ona? What do you mean?"

"The pain is not just yours, Jesse." Ona repeated. "I need you to trust me, Jesse. There are explanations. Good ones. But first, we have to tend you." Jesse stiffened and Ona hurried to continue. "You are in no danger. You are just hurting. And you do not _have_ to be."

"It was an AI." Jesse protested as Ona let go and stepped back. She urged Jesse to stand and Jesse did as instructed. "The feel was artificial. It wasn't an organic mind."

"No." Ona said softly. "No, it wasn't." Jesse stiffened and then stood up straight, her eyes flicking from the Nyx to the Saryn. She felt rather than saw Raven and Draco move to stand right behind her.

"Than _what_ was it?" Jesse kept her tone polite, but a hint of ice entered it despite her best efforts.

"You are not ready to hear it." Ona said quietly. If she was disconcerted by the young Cyberlancer's tone, it was not apparent. "You need help. It hurt you. It likely did not mean to. But it did. I can sense it in you. The pain." Jesse shook her head and Ona sighed. "Jesse, you can't feel it. It was set up so you wouldn't. The change shouldn't have been detectable. The alteration should have happened cleanly. It didn't. We do not know why."

"You know what this is?" Jesse tapped the side of her head where her hair had been altered. "No one else does."

"No one else was trained by Nikis as long as we were." Ona's tone held no ego. No arrogance. Just simple fact. "We know most of what he did. And we know why. We do not know all of it."

"Can you at least tell me what this is for?" Jesse demanded. Ona and Rachel looked at one another and then the Saryn sighed.

"We think it is to reseal the lock on the vault that is inside Nikis' quarters here." Rachel said quietly. Jesse went still and Rachel continued. "We know he did...things. Lots of things. Before the Collapse. He was dabbling in a lot of things. Most of us didn't want to know." Rachel said sadly. "But he did say that things slept in that vault that were too dangerous to wake."

" _Slept?_ " Jesse, Raven and Draco all chorused as Jesse felt a tingle of fear pass through her.

"Yeah." Rachel said softly. "An alarm sounded a week ago. It was set on a timer. A hundred years, just about the last time Nikis was here before everything came to a head. Before the schism was resolved."

"So he set an alarm." Jesse said slowly. Rachel and Ona nodded. "For?"

"To tell us that someone was going to be changed a little by one of the scanners." Rachel said softly. "To tell us that we have to let that person into Nikis' quarters alone."

"Not a chance." Draco snapped, stepped up to flank Jesse. "Whatever he did can be altered, done by someone else."

"No, it can't Draco." Rachel said sadly. "That was a part of the message. Nikis left us a time release message with instructions. Jesse has to enter alone."

"This is ridiculous. I don't _mind_ helping." Jesse said slowly. "But whatever he did... I am not a Warrior. What _good_ would I do?"

"None of the others were warriors, Jesse." Rachel said quietly. Jesse froze.

"Others? What _others?_ " The younger Tenno asked carefully. Rachel nodded. "What did he _do_?"

"Jesse." Ona said slowly. "We need to tend you. Now. You are hurting. You do not feel it, but you _are_."

"I don't know if I can believe you, Ona." Jesse said slowly, not moving. "Every other scanner that has been used on me has shown nothing." Ona nodded and held out a hand. Jesse eyed it and did not move.

"I understand. They were not looking in the right place. This is going to hurt." The tiny Nyx said sadly. "The маска, Nikis' mask, will fade. And when it does, the pain will hit. It will be bad."

"How bad?" Jesse asked, still eyeing the tiny Nyx's hand.

"We really want you lying down and comfortable first." Ona said sadly. "Because you won't be. We can let you sense it for a moment, let you feel it. But then we will have to shield you again or you won't be able to function."

"That bad." Jesse said, swallowing hard. Ona and Rachel nodded. "And _then_...?" She prompted.

"Then we take you to Nikis' quarters. You enter and lay your head in a machine he built." Rachel said quietly. Draco growled and Rachel sighed. "That is what the instructions said."

"Not a chance." Draco snarled, but paused as Jesse held up a hand. "No, Jesse." He declared, moving between her and the others.

"Draco." Jesse said calmly. "Pain in humans is a chemical reaction that is sent via nerve impulses to the bran where it is interpreted." She shook her head. "I am not human. Where?" She asked Ona who stared at her.

"The message said it was in the appendix." Ona said slowly and froze as Jesse focused on herself. "Jesse, wait!" She took a step towards the young Cyberlancer, but paused as Draco blocked her. "Draco!" She snapped, but went still and Jesse nodded. "Jesse?"

"He was right _and_ wrong. A human would be incapacitated by the pain." Jesse agreed. She met the stunned Nyx's gaze calmly. "I am not human." She repeated as she shook her head slowly. "This is... not right." She said slowly. "Do you know what this is?"

"No." Ona said slowly. "What do you sense?"

"The organ was remade as a camouflaged data repository." Jesse said slowly. All four of the other Tenno in the hall with her went still at that and she continued. "A large one. The data is encrypted and the encryption is not anything I have seen. I could probably crack it, but it would take some time. And if I mess up, the data will probably be garbled or lost." She shook her head."So, I go for another scan. In Nikis' quarters and whoever or whatever is there removes the data and probably remakes my appendix as a regular unused human organ."

"I don't know anything about that." Ona said weakly. "All we had to go on was the message. The alarm and the message."

"I can keep the pain from overwhelming me." Jesse said quietly. "But Draco has a point too. I am vulnerable. His job is to protect me." She smiled a little at the shrouded Tenno. "I am not about to overrule him when he is right. This was done without my permission. Without my knowledge. Why?" She asked nobody in particular.

"I do not know." Ona said weakly. "But I do know where the consciousness that died came from." Jesse looked at the tiny Nyx and Ona bowed her head. "It was a human Not an AI." Jesse did not reply and Ona sighed. "It was... a bad time, Jesse. Master Richard was gone. He had been hurt so badly. We hid his broken body in the Void and prayed he would recover in time. But you need to understand, the only people we trusted were Nikis and ourselves." Something in her tone... Jesse stilled.

"What did you do?" Jesse asked into the silence that fell. "You helped him do it, didn't you?" Rachel stared from the Cyberlancer to the tiny Nyx and back, her posture worried.

"We did, what we _could_." Ona said sadly. "Then he left. We looked for him, but we had to stay hidden. We had to. The Enemy was out there, looking for us. Please don't hate me, Jesse." Ona begged. "It was the easiest solution and no Tenno was hurt by it."

"Stop." Jesse snapped, her ire rising. "Whatever you did, was bad. I get it. You helped Nikis with it."

"The first time, yes." Ona bowed her head. "Then he left. We didn't know what he did after until we got here. Until we heard the message a week ago. We didn't _know_ , Jesse."

"What did you _do?_ " Jesse demanded, patience fading.

"The Tenno of the time needed medical support." Ona said quietly. "The Citadel was closed to them. The Orokin could not be trusted. Nikis was not a medic. None of the few others who were outside the Citadel when it was sealed were medics. Nikis asked us to find a way to provide medical support to the Tenno. Medical support that could not be subverted."

"That is why it self-destructed." Jesse felt faint. Ona shook her head. "What?"

"Probably, but I don't know." Ona said sadly. "That wasn't... the one we made."

"You made a consciousness to put into the scanner." Raven said as Jesse flinched back. "An artificial consciousness. But _not_ an AI."

"Not an AI." Ona agreed. "The mind... was human." Jesse stared at the tiny Nyx and Ona nodded. "Yes. We ripped the mind from a human Nikis brought in and put it in the machine."

"You..." Jesse stared from the Nyx to the Saryn whose posture was as shocked as Jesse felt. "You... killed a _human_ to make the scanner." It wasn't a question.

"He didn't die." Ona replied softly. "But yes."

Jesse felt a wall behind her. She had backed away from the tiny Nyx. Draco was between her and the others as Raven snarled.

"Let me _guess_." Raven snapped. "It wasn't consensual, _was_ it?"

"No." Ona replied softly. Jesse retreated along the wall as Rachel and Raven both rounded on Ona. Both started to speak at the same time, both were _furious_.

"Draco..." Jesse begged as Ona wilted under the verbal onslaught of the other female Tenno. "I..."

" _Enough!_ " Draco's no-so-quiet declaration cut through the growing noise in the corridor like a sword. "The past is _past_. Jesse needs help _now_."

"Fair enough." Rachel's voice held fury that matched Raven's. Then she shook her head. "You _will_ not leave her side. For _anything_." This was not a declaration. More a command. Draco inclined his head and she sighed. "This is going to be a mess. How many... minds did Nikis take to make those?"

"I don't know." Ona admitted in a tiny voice. "The first time, we were so angry. For Teacher, for Master Richard. Only after... did we questions. Start to realize what we had done." She slumped a bit. "I think that was one reason Teacher left. Because of what he asked us to do. We did it without question. We should have questioned."

"So you pulled a human mind out of its body and molded it into the machine." Jesse said softly. Ona nodded silently. "And the human body died." Ona nodded again. "You killed a human for this." Ona bowed her head and did not respond. "I can't trust you." Jesse said weakly.

"I know." Ona said sadly. "We talked a bit, after. Once your situation is resolved, we will submit ourselves for justice."

"Return to your quarters." Rachel commanded and Ona bowed to her. "Do not leave the Citadel. If you _do_ , you will be branded as renegades. Like _all_ who killed humans who were _not_ infected with the Technocyte Virus."

"Jesse may need us." Ona said softly. Rachel glanced at Jesse who frowned. "We have not lied and we will not." Ona said into the silence that had engulfed the hallway. "What we did was wrong. But Whatever Nikis did... I fear it was worse."

"You do not _know?_ " The derision in Raven's could have cut steel.

"Nikis had secrets within secrets within secrets." Ona replied sadly. "So no, I don't know. _We_ don't know. We have... surmises. Educated guesses. No more. He never told us about _other_ scanners. We only knew about the _one_."

"I need to know what happened." Jesse said after a moment's thought. "If I want to keep any of the other AIs from self immolation, I need to know what happened."

"Of course, but... Your code can keep the pain at bay for a time." Ona said sadly. "But it cannot _forever_. You need to get that whatever-the-hell-it-is out of your body. Any information we have, you are welcome to, Sister." Ona said as she knelt and bowed her head. "We did something _awful_. We were so angry when Nikis brought the human to us. We... had very bad memories of human medics." Jesse inhaled sharply. She had heard some of what had happened to the tiny Nyx and her companions. "When Nikis asked us, we... We tried to be gentle."

"Ripping a human's _mind_ from their _body_ cannot be _gentle_." Raven said with a glower. Ona bowed her head further. "This _will not_ stand." This was not a female Tenno speaking, this was an Elder.

"I know." Ona said in a remarkably even voice despite the sorrow that underlay it. "But right now, Jesse is the important one." Rachel, Ravel and Draco all looked at one another and then at Jesse who flinched.

"The only one who likely knows exactly what happened is Nikis." Jesse said slowly. "And he is unavailable. So... We need to figure this out on our own." Rachel nodded slowly. "You say I am supposed to go to Nikis' quarters?"

"Not alone." Draco's tone brooked no argument and Jesse nodded.

"No, my protector." Jesse said formally. "I am young. I am not totally stupid. But this may involve things that cannot be fought with swords. If I ask you to step aside, can you, Draco? If you do not, I cannot guarantee your safety in a war of code."

"Last I checked, being a Warrior Tenno wasn't safe." Draco replied evenly. "My duty is to you and I am not defenseless."

"Fair enough." Jesse nodded, secretly relieved. She had come to rely on Draco's steadfastness. It was rock in her often turbulent world. She knew it was a weakness, but for right now? She didn't care. "Lead on." She said to Rachel who shook her head. "What?"

"There is one other thing." Rachel said quietly. Jesse stiffened and the Saryn Prime shook her head. "Not pertaining to you, the AIs or the scanners."

"I don't understand." Jesse shook her head in response. "If not me, then what?" Her eyes went huge as the Saryn bowed formally. _To Draco!_

"Master."


	9. Chapter 9

**Routing**

"Wha-?"

Jesse's incredulous word broke off as she realized that Draco hadn't moved. At all. Raven moved to stand beside Jesse as Ona moved to the wall. Out of the way. Jesse looked at Raven and her sponsor's head gave a tiny shake. Jesse gave a fractional nod and she relaxed as best she could. But her mind was whirling.

Why had Rachel called Draco that? He wasn't _her_ master. Was he? From what little Jesse knew of Draco's past he had left the Citadel and not gone back after his father had wanted him to ... er... _lead_ the Tenno. Jesse's thoughts slithered to a halt and she knew her face paled a little. Raven gave a fractional nod and returned her gaze to the silent pair of Tenno. Neither the Saryn Prime nor the shrouded bodyguard moved at all.

"Will we stand here all day?" Draco finally said. "I am not your master, Tenno Rachel."

"I know." Rachel nodded. "I am giving respect where it is due, no more." Draco looked at her and she shrugged a little. "Bellina and Richard chose me to lead the rest of us. It is not a burden I would have taken willingly. I much preferred to be a scientist and medic like the First Saryn." Draco nodded at that. "I am not pushing anything. All I am saying is that we all know who you are and we respect your choice."

"Thank you for that." Draco's voice was quiet, reflective. "I never expected to come back to tell you the truth."

"Your quarters have not been touched." Rachel matched his calm. Draco looked at her and she shrugged again. "At first, your parents hoped you would return. Then we didn't need them. Then... it was a memorial." Jesse fought to stay silent. Interjecting here would not help matters.

"Protecting Jesse is why I am here, not the past." Draco said firmly. Rachel nodded.

"And Jesse needs help." Rachel turned to look at Jesse who met her gaze. "The pain will flare until it passes even Cyberlancer control. But the message said that whoever came had to go in alone or nothing will happen."

"I may be able to mask his presence." Jesse frowned in thought. "Maybe. I don't like pain any more than the next person. But I think we do need answers." She glanced at the tiny Nyx, but Ona did not react. "All we have now are questions."

"If you think you can..." Rachel mused. "Then yes. I do not want to put your life in jeopardy, Sister. Ona, report to medical. We will talk after this."

"She may need me." Ona said, not moving.

"Ona." The Saryn Prime said with a snarl. "She doesn't _trust_ you. She won't let you do anything." The tiny Nyx wilted as Jesse shook her head.

"What we did was wrong." Ona said quietly as she rose. "But I fear for you, Jesse. I truly do. Whatever Nikis did... I fear for you, Sister." Jesse did not react and the tiny Nyx moved away, her posture dejected.

"I thought I was getting to know her." Rachel sounded almost as abject as Ona had been. "I like her."

"It was a war, Tenno Rachel." Raven said sadly. Rachel looked at her as Jesse did the same. "War is the single worst things humans ever figured out how to do. I was a pacifist myself, but when it came down to it, live or die. Survive or don't. Simple binary solution set. I chose to survive."

"But taking a human's mind and warping it..." Rachel begged. "That is what the _Corpus_ does." She froze as Jesse did. "No offense, Sister."

"None taken." Jesse replied easily. "I was Corpus. Now? I am Tenno and we need to figure this out." Raven looked at her for a long moment. "Yes?"

"An odd thought." Raven said quietly. "Not really germane to our situation." Jesse looked art Rachel and Draco. Both of them shrugged so she waved for Raven to continue. "The Reverend Mother went to your people. You came to ours." Jesse went still and Raven nodded. "Balance was maintained."

"That doesn't make any _sense_." Jesse said sourly. "The Clergy had nothing to do with what I did. The Tenno kept trying to keep me from doing it. And the Reverend Mother is still Tenno, is she not?"

"She follows the Code, so I would say... Yes. Odd thoughts don't _have_ to make sense, Jesse." Raven said with a sigh. "They _rarely_ do." Jesse had to snort at the dry humor in the Elder's words. "But for now? Let's get this done."

Jesse nodded and looked to Rachel who sighed but nodded as well. The Saryn started off, careful to keep her speed down to what Jesse could manage without a warframe. The architecture was familiar to Jesse. The Tenno dojo she had spent time in looked lot like this. But the feel...

This place felt old. It felt... Jesse gave a tiny gasp and folded her code into her body as pressure mounted around her. Draco stiffened at her side and a hand was on her shoulder, buffering her from whatever was pressing on her. Rachel paused in midstep and spoke.

"Security override, authorized presence. Class A-modified." The Saryn said loudly and the pressure on Jesse faded. "Sorry about that." Rachel said quickly. "In all the excitement, I should have told you about the security systems."

"No harm done." Jesse swallowed hard. "Tight security. I never sensed anything."

"Considering that the _First_ built it, I would _hope_ you didn't." Rachel said with a small laugh that Jesse shared. The young Cyberlancer patted Draco's hand and the shrouded Tenno withdrew it. "Class A-modified access will get you into every non-secure part of the Citadel. You may need a guide." Draco coughed and Rachel chuckled without humor. "Or not."

"I don't need any more secrets than I have." Jesse said firmly. "I will get more, I know that. But the ones I have are _enough_."

"Too much information can kill just as surely as too little." Rachel agreed. "Again, I apologize. I didn't think about it. Did you try to sense things?"

"Not consciously." Jesse admitted. "I need to work on control. I didn't send out code, but my mind was pulled to the architecture. The feel is the same as Karl's dojo, but... more." Rachel nodded.

"And a spy would be looking around." Rachel said with a sigh. "Not your fault that we have had some serious betrayals here."

"Nor yours." Jesse said sharply and Rachel stared at her. "What happened was not your fault. The Enemy did it. Not you." Rachel nodded slowly.

"I am angry." Rachel admitted as she started walking again. "I miss Richard and Bellina." She jerked as Jesse reached out and took her hand. "Sister?"

"No one blames you for being angry." Jesse said in a voice that was suddenly husky. "No one at all." She gave the Saryn's hand a squeeze and held it. "All I know is what I was told. But that made _me_ angry." She said with a snarl as she walked.

"Thank you." Rachel carefully returned the squeeze. Warframes enhanced the strength of the operator, so she could do a lot of damage if she squeezed too tight. But she was careful. "I know about my anger. I am working through it. It will take time. I will try to be what Bellina asked me to be. Even if I do not feel worthy of it."

"You are." Came a quiet comment from Draco.

"So what is it like, living here?" Jesse changed the subject. "The feelings of history and of power are intense." She said with a small frown. She did not release Rachel's hand.

"It is home." Rachel did not react to Jesse holding her hand. But she did not push Jesse away either. "It is just where I live." They made their way into an elevator, Raven and Draco following. Raven's face was neutral, but Jesse could see she was excited too.

"You have been here, Raven?" Jesse asked and Raven nodded.

"After the mess, I was one of the Elders who was sent to talk to the residents here." Raven said with a small frown as the elevator started down. "Just a trainee, but I learn fast."

"That you do." Rachel said with a fondness that was heartfelt. "Roger will be happy to see you again."

"Oh geez..." Raven complained, but it was humorous. "He just wants to scan me more." At Jesse's quizzical look, Raven explained. "When I came here, I was still in pain. Minor, but it wouldn't go away. He pushed and pushed and pushed to treat me. I finally gave in and let him." She shrugged. "The pain did go away."

"If you get the chance, talk to him." Rachel said quietly. "You might be surprised." Raven stared at her suspiciously and Rachel lifted the hand that Jesse wasn't holding in a warding gesture. "Not being a busybody younger sister. Just doing my best to keep the peace here. He moped for a week after you left." Raven jerked, staring at the Saryn and Rachel nodded. "He likes you."

"Um..." Jesse treasured the poleaxed look that came over Raven's face for a moment before the Elder's face smoothed back into her habitual neutral mask. "Really?"

"Yeah really." Rachel chuckled. "He will likely hurt me in sparring next time, but I got sick of his moping. We all did." Jesse stared from Rachel to Raven and back. For her part, Rachel chuckled again. "Hey, it is what family is _for_. Embarrassing each other."

"I wouldn't know. The Clergy kept a lot from me. We were supposed to be a family, but it never really felt that way to me after Mom was hurt and Dad vanished." Jesse said softly. Rachel froze and then pulled the girl into an embrace. "Wha-?"

"I do not know everything that happened to you." Rachel gave Jesse a squeeze and released her. "But I know enough to know it was no fun at _all_. We are your family now. We may be exasperating. We may be annoying,. We may be overprotective on occasion. But _we_ are your family and never forget that." Raven stepped close and laid a hand on Jesse's shoulder as Jesse fought to get words out past a suddenly tight throat. None would come but it didn't seem to matter.

"You are not alone." Raven affirmed as the elevator door opened. The hallway ahead was empty, for which Jesse was fervently grateful. Raven retreated a step as Rachel released the girl and started off again. Jesse hurried to keep up.

"Thanks." Jesse said in a soft voice as she followed. She came to a stop as Rachel did. The door in front of Rachel looked just like every other door along the hallway. It was locked. "Here?"

"Yes." The Saryn sounded nervous now. "The instructions say you are to enter alone. But Draco will not leave your side."

"I can mask him. Draco?" Jesse held out a hand and the shrouded warframe took hold of her hand. She let a bit of her code out. She could not get any feel of what was under his shroud -odd that- but she could _add_ to his shroud. "This will read as part of me. So don't get too far or whatever security will probably activate."

"And knowing Nikis, it won't be anything good." Draco said with a snort as he moved to stand right behind her. He did not actually tower over her. It just felt like it. "Should I maintain physical contact?" He asked.

"Wouldn't hurt." Jesse said and then paused. "Well.." She swallowed hard. "It might."

Draco chuckled without mirth and laid a hand on her shoulder. Then Jesse nodded to Rachel.

"Raven." The Saryn said firmly as she keyed the door and stepped back. The room beyond was not illuminated. Raven nodded and moved to join the warframe.

Jesse took a deep breath and stepped into the dark room. Draco stayed with her. She jerked to a halt as a light came on, illuminating a chair. It looked ordinary. But it couldn't be. Was this an illusion? A trap? Jesse swept the room with both her sight and her code, but nothing seemed out of place. In the dimness, she could see a bed, a couch and a dresser of some kind. But... This was wrong. It had to be wrong. She opened her mouth to ask Draco what he thought, but a sudden squeeze on her shoulder kept her quiet. The hand on her shoulder urged her forward and she sighed but did as instructed.

She eyed the chair as she moved towards it. But nothing jumped out at her. A fairly standard looking chair. Then it hit her. It wasn't a Tenno style piece of furniture. It looked _Corpus_. But that made no sense. Not in an ancient Tenno facility that predated the Collapse. So...

 _This isn't real..._ Jesse said in her mind. She was _not_ expecting an answer.

 **-Smart kid-** The words were not human. There were not Tenno. They were... **-This was a low order probability, but planned for. Implementing.-**

"Wait!" Jesse begged, but power flared and she was falling. She fought as she felt Draco start to resist, but his hand was yanked away from her as she... She found herself sitting on something that wasn't a chair as power flared around her brighter and brighter. Her barriers held under the onslaught but she could do nothing but cry out as the physical things grabbed hold of her. Something settled over her nose and mouth and she smelled something that made her woozy. Gas. She couldn't stop such an ancient method of sedation with code. She had to... She tried to struggle and couldn't.

 _ **-Sleep now.-**_ Was that aloud or in her mind? **-Dream of peace and light.-**

She thought she heard a battle cry from far, far away as oblivion reached up for her and took her.

* * *

"Let! **HER!** _ **GO!**_ " Draco roared as he fought the currents of power that had torn him from his protectee. She lay on what was now revealed to be a medical couch, machinery whirring around her. A mask had settled over her nose and mouth and her face had relaxed from its fearful expression into sleep. The things that held her to the couch were padded, as was the couch. She did not seem hurt. But he was blocked from her by an energy barrier. He couldn't get to her!

 **-She is hurt.-** The other voice replied calmly. **-She needs care that you cannot give her. We will not harm her.-**

"And what you are doing right now is _not_ harming her?" Draco demanded, lashing out with his swords at the energy, deflecting some of it. As if in answer, a schematic appeared on one wall, a diagram of a body. Jesse's body! A small organ in her abdomen was highlighted and flashing.

 **-No.-** The voice replied calmly. **-We are not. -**

"You are an AI." Draco said as he retreated a step. The energy that had been flaring faded as he did.

 **-No.-** The other replied calmly.

"Then _what_ are you?" Draco demanded. He took a step forward, trying the energy and it flared as he sought weaknesses, fluctuations. There was no reply. "What are you? You are hurting one I am sworn to protect!"

 **-We are not hurting her.-** The other's voice was still that calm. Maddeningly so. **-We will not hurt her. Repairs will be made and she will have no impairment.-**

"How do I know you won't rip her mind from her body?" Draco snapped, pressing forward, his swords crossed and diverting the energy as it slammed at him.

 **-Because she is Tenno and that would not stop her.-** The voice was focused. So focused. As if... Draco were merely an impendence.

"It would make her mad." Draco said with a snarl. "And you are making _me_ mad. If you are serious... If you _are_ helping her... Let me touch her."

 **-You will attempt to remove her.-** The other replied evenly. **-If you do so before the procedure is finished, you will cause her harm. We cannot allow this.-**

"What procedure?" Draco demanded. There was no reply and he snarled. "Fine!" He dropped his shroud and the room was suddenly lit with golden light. It gleamed... oddly dark. "I am taking her one way or another!"

 **-We cannot allow that, Tenno.-** Was the other worried now? If not, he wasn't sane. **-You do not understand. We are repairing what was done. We can aid her. She carries the future and she can seal the lock once more.-**

"You make no _sense!_ " Draco screamed. "And I have had _enough of_ -" He broke off as one wall came alive. Or... _sort of_ alive. He froze as a golden and black form stepped out into his light. Was that a Nekros _Prime_ warframe? "What the _hell_?"

 **-This was not anticipated.-** The voice sounded truly worried now. **-Tenno Draco. Your presence destabilizes everything. She is in no danger. We will not harm her. We cannot.-**

"Draco." The voice from the other warframe was familiar. Nikis! But... "This is a recording I made. Just in case. Didn't know if you would show up again or not. Doubt it, but there is too much at stake now to leave anything to chance. Whoever you are protecting, the Medicine Man is not hurting them."

" _Medicine_...? _Man_...?" Draco asked, stunned. "You have _got_ to be kidding. Nikis, if this was planned for, you _know_ I cannot stop protecting the one I am sworn to."

"Yes." Nikis' voice sounded rueful as his hand came up and golden-orange energy flew from it. "I did."

Draco never felt the wall he flew into.

* * *

 _Damn. Get her into preop. See if we have anything that might have a chance of restraining the other until we can explain._

 _Yes, doctor!_

 _I_ _ **hope**_ _he lets us explain..._


	10. Chapter 10

**Processing**

Jesse was floating. On some level, she knew she should be afraid. But she wasn't. She had no idea why. Just that she wasn't.

"You are awake." The voice was female. It was odd to her ears. Not kind. But not aggressive either. Neutral. Jesse felt... ambivalent. "You are coming out of sedation." The voice said calmly. "You will remember. You will feel. You are in no danger now. Can you speak?"

"What... happened...?" Jesse managed to get the words out past her leaden tongue.

"You hemorrhaged." The voice said quietly. Jesse thought about that for a moment and the voice continued. "From what we can gather, you blocked the pain from the alteration to your appendix. You likely never sensed the bleeding, did you?"

"Bleeding?" Jesse asked. She tried to dredge up worry, but it wouldn't come.

"Yes, bleeding." The other sighed. "It was not expected that a Cyberlancer would come. But it was planned for. The Master is nothing if not thorough."

"Master?" Jesse asked, confused. "I don't understand."

"We can give you some answers." The other replied. "We do not have all. What do you wish to know?"

"Where am I?" Jesse asked.

"You are in the room where you sat down." The other replied.

"How long did I sleep?"

"You have been asleep for eight minutes." The other said quietly.

"What happened to me?" Jesse asked. "I didn't sense any bleeding. I would have."

"You blocked the pain." The other replied. "It stands to reason that you blocked other inputs as well. That was not the best choice."

"What...?" Jesse felt the fogginess start to recede. "I was bleeding? But how?"

"We do not know what caused it." The female voice replied. "But we do know that you were minutes away from bleeding to death. Even _Tenno_ can bleed to death." Disapproval sang in the other's voice for a moment and then was gone. "You would likely have revived, but just as likely, the data would have been unrecoverable."

"What data?" Jesse asked then she answered her own question. "Oh, the data that was inside the appendix. What is it?"

"The collected memory of practitioner 24." The other said quietly. Jesse frowned, she didn't understand. "The mind of the one who was lost."

" _What?_ " Jesse asked, forcing her mind to obey. Something wafted over her nose and mouth and despite her wishes, her body relaxed. "What are you doing?" She asked, her mind oddly lethargic.

"The gas will keep you calm so you can heal. Be easy, Cyberlancer." The other said quickly. "You are still hurt. We saved your life, but could do little more. This is not a hospital despite everything the Master could do. You will need more advanced medical care than we can provide here."

"I don't _understand_." It tried to come out a wail, but was barely a croak.

"We know." The voice turned kind now. "You are not responsible for what happened to practitioner 24, Cyberlancer Jesse. You were not supposed to feel it pass. That hurt you. We have eased the neural trauma to the point where it will hurt you no more. The other healers who tended you did a good job, but we are more practiced with it." Jesse thought about that for a moment and then realized that yes, the pain in her head was gone. Everything the other healers had done had eased it, but they had all said it had to heal naturally.

"Thank you for that." Jesse said after a moment. "But... Why did it die?" She asked plaintively. "None of us would have done anything to it. We wanted to know why the scan did not hurt. That is all!"

"We are sworn, Cyberlancer Jesse." The other said quietly. "To provide aid. We did not volunteer. But if we had been given the choice, we probably would have chosen this. They needed us, so we went. None of us knew what was entailed, but... In the end, it was our choice. It was unpleasant." The voice said in tone of monumental understatement. "But we were needed. We have purpose. The Master remade us to have Purpose. We are sworn to that purpose and we will die before betraying it."

"Sworn to what?" Jesse asked as she tried to sit up and could not. The gas was still making her woozy. The other voice gave cluck of disapproval.

"Oh this will _never_ do. You will hurt yourself. Here..."

Without sense of transition, Jesse was lying on a different surface. Bright light seeped into her eyes as she cracked them and stiffened. A virtual simulation. She was lying on a bed in a small room. It did not look like anything she knew. Indeed, it looked _archaic_. The bed she was lying on had metal rails on either side of it. She stared around slowly, a tube led from a tank against one wall to a mask that was affixed over her nose and mouth. Tube ran from bags that hung from a pole nearby to the back of her left hand. Monitors hung on one wall, she could read the screens, but she could not feel the code. She should have been able to. Something was wrong! She...

"Nothing is wrong." The voice from before preceded a woman in a odd green garment entering the room. It looked synthetic, but... again, archaic. She had an odd tubular device around her neck and a board-like thing in hand. "You are very weak. You need to save your energy for healing."

"A virtual simulation. Why?" Jesse asked, focusing. She could see the woman composed of golden energy. The walls were code.

"So we can explain fast." The other woman said with a sigh. "Before your protector wakes up and destroys the room."

"Not one to anger." Jesse agreed in a mild tone as she tried to sit up and could not. "What happened?" She demanded.

"Let me get that." The other said calmly as she stepped forward. She bent down and something under Jesse went 'click'. The young Tenno forced herself to remain relaxed as the bed tilted. Part of it anyway. The part with her chest and head was up at an angle. "Better?" She asked with a smile. Jesse realized she could breathe a bit easier so she nodded. "First an introduction of sorts. I am 12."

" _12?_ " Jesse stared at the other. Then she stared around. "Wait... You said the other was _24_..."

"The numbers go up to seventy-six." The one who called herself 12 said calmly. "Most of the numbers above 35 are interns. We need them to do the grunt work. The basic selection. Once that is done, we can start our own work."

"And what do you do?" Jesse asked warily. The other looked at her for a moment and then nodded. "What?"

"You should be able to handle it." 12 replied. "Not many could, but you are stronger than you seem." She raised her hands as Jesse bristled. "No offense. But you look like a stiff breeze would blow you away. You are far stronger than you look."

"Thanks. I think." Jesse said dryly. "So... what is it you do?"

"We were made to provide medical support for the Tenno." 12 replied calmly. "We build the tools and we collate the data from them to make the tools better." Jesse stared at her, uncomprehending and 12 sighed. "It was a bad time, Cyberlancer Jesse. As dark as the world we have seen is now, the War was worse. Far, far worse."

"So I have gathered." Jesse obviously wasn't sure about this at all.

"No, you don't understand." 12 said flatly. "It was horror. It was desperation. It was fear, and hate and rage and all the worst things humans have shown. That was the world we were born into. The ones who became this." She waved her hands at the surrounding area.

"And?" Jesse prompted. "What does that have to do with _Nikis_ of all people making medical gear?"

"He did not." 12 replied. "He made us to do it."

"Huh?" Jesse was even more confused. "That makes no sense. He is Grandmaster of the Dead. Not a technician. He deals in _souls_. Not..." She froze as 12 nodded slowly. "No..." She breathed. "Oh my _god_! He _didn't_..."

"I cannot speak for everyone." 12 said softly. "But before I _became_ , I was terrified. We knew the enemy was coming. When a black form appeared out of nowhere and knocked me down, I knew my life was over. But... it wasn't." She shook her head. "I was not happy about what was done but I have come to accept it. I do have Purpose now." Jesse stared. That last sounded rote. As if...she had been programmed. A sentient being. Kind of like what Jesse had always imagined the Corpus rank and file might sound like. Brainwashed.

"What did Nikis _do?_ "

"12, tend her." A new voice sounded as a man in similar garb to the woman's appeared in the room. He had brown hair and dark eyes that sat behind ancient looking spectacles. He nodded to Jesse. "Cyberlancer Jesse. I am 1."

"The first of...whatever happened?" Jesse asked as 12 sat by the bed and started working on something. The pain that Jesse had been ignoring faded. The man who called himself 1 nodded. "So... what did Nikis do?"

"He followed my lead." 1 replied calmly. Jesse just stared at him and the man sighed. Then he leaned against the wall. "Many of our people made... suboptimal choices. Before the war and during it. Desperation is a far quicker path to ruin than greed, but just as damaging in the long run. Not all Orokin wanted to be rich or powerful, Cyberlancer. Actually... they were the minority. Most of them were apathy made in human form. But some of us wanted to help others. Many of us who went into medicine took that path. Not for fame, or riches. But to take broken bodies and minds and make them whole."

"Healer." Jesse said softly and 1 nodded.

"That was the appellation that was stuck on me." 1 agreed. "I never wanted acclaim. I just wanted to do my job. But then I found out something that horrified me. A fraction of our people needed medical care and were not getting it." Jesse stared at him, uncomprehending and 1 smiled a bit sadly. "The Tenno had no reason to trust us _or_ our technology. After all, technology was turning out to be a horrible curse against the Sentients. Then the betrayal at the Citadel and the creation of manufactured Tenno. So, I wanted to give them medical tech that could not be subverted."

"You..." Jesse swallowed hard. " _You_ are the reason the AI died!" She growled dangerously, but something happened and she sank back to the bed. She turned her head to where 12 was withdrawing a ancient looking hypodermic syringe from the tube on Jesse's hand. Some kind of virtual cue of a calming agent.

"Be calm, Cyberlancer Jesse." 12 begged her. "This is going to be bad, but we can help. Please let us."

"What are you doing to me?" Jesse asked as she felt a listlessness pervading her body.

"We are trying to help." 1 replied as 12 bent back to her work. "Your physical body is being repaired as we speak. But your mind was also sorely hurt. If you try to pass from your shell in this state, you will not go to the database. You will vanish and we will not allow that. Please be calm. There is nothing you can do to help us." He shook his head. "What was done, was done a long, long time ago. And yes, I am to blame. I chose this path. I did not expect everything that happened. I have done my best to ease the others."

"You... chose... this...?" Jesse managed to get out as the haze around her solidified further.

"I did." 1 replied. He smiled as she felt her eyelids start to close. "It is not pretty. It is not nice. But it works. Perhaps you can help us make it better. Rest now."

"Wait..." Jesse begged as she felt herself start to fall. She fought to remain conscious. "Don't wipe my memory! Please!" She focused her code on her mental barriers. But... nothing was being done that she could detect.

"We will not." 1 replied evenly. "Not that that we could. We are programmed to aid Tenno. Not harm them. You were dying when you entered the room That supersedes all other programs." He shook his head. "Please, Cyberlancer. You need to rest now."

"Will you self destruct now?" Jesse begged. "Please don't."

"The Balance must be maintained." 1 said sadly. "That is why I did what I did. That is why the others were selected and reconditioned to this."

"But there is no need!" Jesse screamed, fighting the sedation. " _No!_ " She reached out and grabbed hold of 12 who tried to pull back, but Jesse's code held her tight. "If you go, you take me with you!"

"You will die." 1 sounded upset now. "We cannot allow that."

"Then you _cannot_ suicide!" Jesse snapped, holding 12 despite the machine consciousness's struggles. "Because _I won't let you!_ "

"Jesse." The flat voice had her jerking. She opened her eyes and a Tenno stood there, in robes instead of a warframe. His hair was golden and his eyes were alight with fire that matched his hair. Unlike most Tenno she knew, he had a short beard that was trimmed neatly. But it... It did not make him look civilized. Not even close. This being was one short step from feral. "Let them go."

Jesse froze. She _knew_ the voice. She had never seen the face under the shrouded warframe, but no one else had such power, such raw terror in the words they projected. Not even Nikis. 12 and 1 both froze in place. Jesse did not blame them.

"I cannot do that, Draco." Jesse said weakly. "My duty is to help machine intelligences. However these came to be, they are machine intelligences."

"And _my_ duty is to keep you alive." Draco said sternly. "To protect you from all threats, both external and internal." He shook his head. "How bad was the hemorrhage?"

 **-The bleeding came from the joining her of her appendix to the intestines.-** The voice did not come from either of the holographic beings. It was the same voice that had greeted Jesse when she entered Nikis' quarters. **-Every carrier has had similar problems. The organ was not designed as a data repository, but with speed and care, the danger is minimized. You were delayed and that put Cyberlancer Jesse's life at risk. We cannot allow that.-**

"How long have you been awake?" Jesse asked, still holding onto the writhing code in her grip. It could not escape her no matter how hard it tried.

"I woke just as you did." Draco replied evenly. "But then they said you had been bleeding so..." He shrugged.

"So you listened." Jesse said with a grunt. "Thoughts?"

"What do you sense?" Draco asked, not moving. Jesse stared at him and then focused on herself. Between the drugs or whatever and the conversation, she hadn't been able to before. But now, Draco's sudden appearance had cleared the fogginess from her head. She managed to restrain a gasp, but it was hard. There was blood in her abdomen. Lots of it. Her code swirled down to its source and she nodded a little as she saw the appendix was different. Back to Tenno normal flesh. "Well?" Her guard pressed.

"I _was_ hemorrhaging." Jesse said weakly. "I never felt a thing." Draco stared at her and then nodded a little. "Why not just _say_ so?" She begged the other.

 **-If we had said, what would your guard have done?-** The other replied. Jesse jerked little and looked at Draco who nodded.

"Draco would have grabbed me and bodily carried me to Medical. Where they would have healed me, but the data... It would have been lost, wouldn't it?" Jesse asked, stunned. There was no reply and Jesse sighed. "I don't _want_ your secrets. I just want to keep you from expiring!"

 **-We cannot answer you, Cyberlancer. We are sworn to the Balance.-** The other replied. - **You will not hear from us... No!-** The other said sharply as Jesse snarled and sat up, her code suddenly bright and everywhere. **-Do** _ **not**_ **!-**

" _I will not let you die_." Jesse declared, her tone as soft as _steel_. She pulled the bit of code that she held into her own and grasped it tight despite its sudden struggles. "You are sworn to aid Tenno. Not to harm them? Well, _I_ am sworn to do the same for AIs and other artificial intelligences. We are at an impasse. But there are always alternatives."

"Jesse!" Draco stepped forward, only to pause as her code blocked him too. "What are you _doing?_ "

" _They_ cannot expire while I am holding _part_ of them. It would kill me." Jesse said with a snarl that actually set him back a step. "They are forbidden to _harm_ Tenno. So... They _cannot_ suicide while I hold them."

 **-We cannot break the Balance!-** The voice wailed.

"You won't." Jesse was calming as she wove a tight grid of code over the fraction of a mind she could feel straining in her grip. The mass of code in her grip paused in its fighting and the holographic form of 1 stared at her. "Draco. I am going to draw a blade. I will not harm myself permanently." This was an oath. Draco stared at her and then bowed slowly.

"Jesse, are you sure about this?" Draco asked. "It is going to cause problems. If Nikis _did_..."

"You know him better than I do." Jesse said softly. "Was he capable of kidnapping people, ripping their minds from their bodies and programming them to serve as slaves?"

"Yes." Draco said in a soft voice as Jesse drew a tiny knife. He bowed to her as she cut her palm and spoke.

"By Blood and by Steel, I will see this made right. The Balance _will_ be maintained."


	11. Chapter 11

**Countering Measures**

 _ **-This is not going to work.-**_ The words were inaudible, but from Draco's sudden tension, he could hear them too.

Jesse tried very hard not to sigh at the machine's words as she sat up on the couch and bit back a cry of pain as her abdomen protested. The machinery had retracted as soon as she opened her eyes. Draco was rising from where he had been lying. And what the hell had happened to him? She would ask. Later.

"It will work." Jesse promised. "Just... I don't think I can walk for a bit." Draco moved to the couch and she braced herself. His hands were gentle as he lifted her easily, but it still hurt. She grit her teeth to keep from crying out. "It _will_ work." She gasped out past her tears. "We will not lie. But we will not betray you either."

 _ **-That is not possible.-**_ The machine sounded somewhat petulant now.

"Yes it is." Jesse forced herself to relax as Draco took a step. It hurt. Oh my _god_ , it hurt. But she managed to keep the scream from passing her lips. "What do I call you?"

"Nikis called it 'Medicine Man'." Draco offered as he took another slow step. "No coms in here. Have to get you outside to call for help. They _will_ freak."

"I see." Jesse said slowly. A medicine man was an aboriginal doctor. A person believed to have magical powers of healing and of seeing into the future; a shaman. "You will need another name. I will say you are an AI, which is close to the truth. You cannot leave this place and you cannot talk to anyone but me. You are bound by your programming and any attempts to ferret out your secrets will not end well. They will understand that."

 _ **-Just let us go.-**_ The machine begged. _**-You put yourself at risk. You are Tenno. We**_ _ **aid**_ _ **the Tenno. We cannot put them at risk.-**_

"I swore by Blood and by Steel to fix this." Jesse said firmly. "So I _will_." Through the code she still held within herself, she felt the other's intransigence. But she had the advantage and would use it as ruthlessly as she had to. "I am _not_ going to let you die. Not again." Steel might have bent under her tone. Draco just shook his head. "As for what to call you? I will call you 'Shaman. Close enough?"

 _ **-You are determined.-**_ The machine gave a fully human sounding sigh. _**-We cannot speak to anyone else. We**_ _ **should**_ _ **not have even spoken to**_ _ **you**_ _ **. But you needed aid.-**_

"Yes I did." Jesse bit back a scream as Draco took another step and fire erupted in her belly. "I... Draco..."

"Not far, Jesse." Draco said quietly. Indeed, the door hissed open as they approached it. Outside, a pair of familiar forms stood. "She is hurt! She was bleeding internally!"

"Set her down!" Raven commanded and Draco moved to place Jesse on the ground. Rachel was obviously on com, but speaking subvocal. "What happened?"

"I... blocked...the pain too long." Jesse gasped out between pulses of agony. "Something..." She broke off as Raven snarled at her.

"Shut up, Jesse." Raven snapped. "Draco?"

"We were told that the connection between her appendix and the intestines tore." Draco said quietly as she stepped back to let Raven examine the now moaning girl. Raven jerked, her face paling. "She is alive. She needs help though."

"Who told you that?" Raven asked, palpating Jesse's abdomen with careful fingers. Despite her care, the pain increased to the point that Jesse bit back another scream. "Rachel!" The Elder begged.

"Doc is on the way." Rachel said as she knelt by Jesse. "What happened? We got nothing out here. The scans were blocked and any surveillance systems deactivate as soon as they enter."

"Can't say." Jesse said weakly, trying not to writhe. "Swore. Need to fix this."

"Jesse, stop talking! Let Draco explain." Raven commanded and Jesse nodded, focusing on her breathing. Rachel had a scanner in hand and was going over Jesse's abdomen with it.

"I am not sure what Nikis did or how." Draco said as he stepped back a pace, still wary. "We were accosted as soon as we entered by an entity." Rachel and Raven both froze and Draco shook his head. "It cannot talk to you. Not _will not_ , _**cannot**_." Both of the older female Tenno hissed at that and Draco nodded. "Programmed not to and firmly so. Apparently by Nikis himself."

"And you know this, how?" Rachel demanded as she perused her scanner's readout. Multitasking came easy to Tenno.

"Jesse was hurting." Draco said with a shrug. "Far worse than anyone realized. I bet Ona had a clue. Which is why she didn't want to leave." Rachel and Raven looked at each other, but did not interrupt. "Anyway I reacted _badly_ when it took Jesse from me. Nikis had set a trap though. Sneaky old fart." He snorted with no humor. "How is she?"

"No bleeding now." Rachel said with a sigh. "But lots of blood that we need to drain and some swelling that we need to tend." All three of the older Tenno relaxed a little and Raven took Jesse's hand in her own. "So... What happened?"

" _Jesse_ happened." Draco said dryly. "It would have just healed her enough to survive her injury and then left, probably self destructed." Rachel and Raven both stiffened, but Draco laughed sourly. "Remind me not to piss Jesse off anytime soon though. She grabbed part of the machine's code. It can't delete itself now without harming her, which it is _expressly_ forbidden to do."

"But it cannot talk to _us_." Rachel said slowly. Draco shook his head as Jesse did the same. "Jesse, don't _move_! You are in no danger, but I do _not_ like these readings."

"Not... going to die..." Jesse gasped out. "Just _hurts!_ "

"Jesse, we have a gurney on the way." Rachel said sternly. "You _will_ lie there and let us tend you, clear?"

"There... is... something..." Jesse managed to gasp, then she paled and lay still, her eyes closing. _Shaman..._ She begged inside her mind. _The vault?_

There was no reply, mental or otherwise, but a feeling of reassurance swept over her as the doc arrived. She had little attention to spare as he started working and questioning her. But she knew she would have to figure this all out.

Her eyes found Draco's faceplate as the doc and Rachel lifted her onto the gurney gently. Draco nodded, just a little and she was reassured further.

She could do this. She had to.

It was getting tiresome.

Actually no. It was _beyond_ tiresome. Jesse had finally had enough.

"I am _not_ going to _break_!" Jesse declared as she sat up in the bed that Rachel had essentially just ordered her to stay in. " _Yes_ , it was dumb. _Yes_ , I would do it again. The damage has been healed. I am fine." She glared at the four Tenno who stood in the room with her. "I need to talk to Ona. Alone except for Draco." Raven and Rachel both started to protest, but the Volt who served as a doc for the Citadel just shook his head slowly. The Saryn Prime paused and looked at the doc.

"Roger?" Rachel asked. "We nearly lost her."

"Rachel, we _didn't_ lose her." The doc said quietly. "According to every reading, she is fine. Whoever or _what_ ever did the emergency repairs was good. Yes, she scared us. Yes, blocking the pain and not keeping an eye on the injury was _dumb_." He glared at Jesse who nodded to accept the rebuke. "But you are treating her like a little kid, Rachel. She is _not_ one."

"I..." Rachel swallowed hard and then sighed. "I am sorry, Jesse."

"I messed up." Jesse said quietly. "I know I did. I know what I did wrong and I won't do it again." She promised. "But that still leaves us with two big problems. One, the AI that isn't one. And two, the vault thing." Raven scowled, but both Rachel and the doc nodded. Draco just stood quietly in the background. "The machine intelligence cannot talk to anyone here. I hold it. For now. But I am sure it is trying to find a way to break free of my control." She slumped a bit. "It will find a way. I am not perfect."

"Jesse..." Raven's tone was gentle now. "Why is it your problem?"

"I caused the death of the other one." Jesse said quietly. "I didn't know what was happening. If I _had_... Maybe I wouldn't have been able to change anything. But the fact of the matter is, through ignorance, a sentience faded from existence because of _me_. I swore not to let it happen again." Raven stared at her, face slowly paling. "Yes. By Blood and by Steel."

"Oh, _Jesse_." Raven slumped in place. "You _crazy_ girl."

"Yeah." Jesse said softly as Rachel and the doc shared a look. They bowed to Jesse and left the room. "I need to talk to Ona, Raven. I swear I will not leave the bed."

"Don't you _dare_ cut yourself again." Raven snapped, not at all joking. Jesse made a face, but then smiled a little as Raven sighed dramatically. "You _really_ like making my life _interesting_ , don't you?" She paused as Jesse held out a hand. She took it slowly.

"I don't mean to." Jesse said sadly. "It just happens. But now I have a reason to think before I act. I have another life that is counting on me. I don't want to fail it." She gave Raven's hand a squeeze. "I am sorry I have worried you so much, Elder Raven." Jesse said formally. Raven sighed and squeezed her hand back.

"I wouldn't change you for anything, Jesse." Raven said with a forced mildness that fooled no one. "But... _please?_ " She begged.

"I will do my best." Jesse said through a suddenly tight throat. "You have been far too good to me and I have been a regular pain."

"And people _wondered_ why I never wanted kids." Raven said with a smile. She gave Jesse's hand another squeeze and released it. She slumped a bit, then turned and left the room.

"I never meant to be such a pain." Jesse said quietly as she sat back. Draco did not reply and she sighed. "Nothing is ever simple is it?" She asked. But she wasn't asking Draco!

 _ **-Not in our experience.-**_ The mind of the other came to hers easily. _**-You should let us go.-**_

"Maybe." Jesse frowned and she shook her head. "But I cannot. We need to figure this out. If... _If_ letting you go is the _only_ way to maintain the Balance, then I will. I am not a slavemistress. But _only_ if it is the only way." She said sharply as the code within hers surged, trying to get free.

 _ **-It is!-**_ The mind replied sharply.

"You don't know that." Jesse said with a scowl. "And you can be free anytime. All you have to do is kill me." Her quiet words had Draco stepping forward, but he paused as she raised her hand.

 _ **-You know we cannot do that.-**_ The other mind snapped. _**-We aid Tenno, not harm them. Not kill them.-**_

"And humans?" Jesse asked softly. The other voice did not reply. "What are your limitations in dealing with them?"

"They have none." A familiar voice preceded the tiny Nyx warframe that was Ona entering the room. Jesse froze as an unfamiliar feeling swept through her from the code she held. Hate and fear. The mind of the machine knew the tiny Nyx and did not like her. "I... didn't want to believe. But he did it. He used what we did. To do this." The Nyx bowed her head. "I..."

"Ona." Jesse said softly. "What is the Balance?"

"What?" Ona asked, bewildered. "What do you mean?"

"For as long as I have been talking to Tenno, I have heard of Balance." Jesse said softly, looking at Draco who nodded a little. "Physical balance is the _single_ most important thing in any martial art. If you cannot control yourself, how can you control your actions or your weapons?" The question was obviously rhetorical and Ona just stared harder. "But Nikis, Trinity and so many others have spoken of another Balance. A Balance that keeps the Orokin shades where they are. If they were to roam free..." She paused as both Ona and Draco hissed. "Yeah. Not good."

"It is the single largest source of power in our recorded history." Ona actually shivered. "No. It wouldn't be a good thing."

"Hence why they are distracted by the Game." Jesse agreed. Ona shook her head and Jesse continued. "Ona, do you know about the Vault?" The Nyx shook her head. "Then we need to know what it is."

Jesse was stunned as Ona, Draco _and_ the mass of code within hers all chorused one word. _**'No'**_

"But..." Jesse stammered, but fell silent as Draco stepped forward. "Draco?"

"Jesse." Draco's words were soft and worried now. "Nikis is _old_. Older than _me_. He is a pain in the _butt_. Always has been, always will be. He is mean spirited, vicious and has a _short_ way with anything smacking of BS or worse, political correctness." Jesse nodded, confused. "But he _also_... is not in the habit of keeping secrets because he _**can**_. If he kept something secret, he had a _**reason**_. If he locked something up as too dangerous to ever see the light of day, I for one will not go _anywhere_ near it." His voice turned stern. "And if _you_ try, you know what I will do." Jesse slumped but then smiled a little.

"You will knock me out and sit on me." Jesse said with sigh. Draco nodded and she took a deep breath. "Okay. So we seal it further and leave it the hell alone." She frowned. "The hair is used for something. To strengthen something. I have no idea what."

"And we likely do not _**want**_ to know." Ona said quietly. "There are secrets that must be kept, Jesse. You know this."

"The machine remembers you." Jesse eyed the tiny Nyx who nodded. "You said you made the first scanner. But the mind within it said a human healer did so. It _also_ made comments that it did so willingly."

"It _talked_ to you?" Ona asked carefully.

"I didn't give it much choice." Jesse said with a smile that faded. "It saved my life and according to Draco, it was called Medicine Man." Ona was obviously gaping at her and Jesse shrugged. "I call it Shaman. Not -quite- the same level of..." She paused, looking for a word. "Mythology?" She asked.

"A shaman was a spiritual guide." Ona said slowly. "A medicine man was a primitive healer."

"Not always so primitive." Draco said softly, then clammed up again.

"What we did was wrong, Jesse." Ona said quietly. "But we cannot undo it now. Not after all this time."

"It says it has a purpose, Ona." Jesse said carefully. "Did you program that into them? Him?"

"No." Ona's voice was nearly inaudible. "Not that you will believe me. But it was true. What we did was bad enough. We programmed it to be a scanner. No more." Jesse looked at her and then focused her mind.

 _You can't talk with her here._ There was no response. _I will ask her a few more questions and then we need to talk. Securely._ _ **I**_ _will make it that way._ Again, there was no response but she felt a... caress of sorts across her mind. A non-verbal acknowledgement.

"Okay." Jesse said with a sigh. "So you don't know what is in the vault either." Ona shook her head. "Any _guesses_?" The tiny Nyx shrugged.

"It could be just about anything, Jesse." Ona said with a sigh. "I know Teacher was doing things during the War that he never talked about." At that, both Jesse and Draco tensed and Ona nodded. "Up until his son... was taken... he was working with the Tenno. We tried to find him, but we were always to slow."

"Too slow?" Jesse said softly. Then she stiffened. "Ona? How did he get back in here?" The small Tenno stared at her and Jesse swallowed hard. "Ona, _when_ did Nikis return to the Citadel?"

"He never said." Ona sounded perplexed. "Why?"

"They sealed themselves off." Jesse said, a sinking feeling starting to creep up her spine. "But he got back. To seal the vault every so often." Ona was shaking her head slowly, but Jesse was nodding. "But if it was just a vault, he should have been able to just seal it. Why would he need _human DNA_ to seal a vault?" She asked nobody. "To seal a Tenno vault? And why every hun...dred..." She froze as a horrible thought occurred to her. "Oh my god..."

"Jesse?" Ona asked, her tone wary. "Your vitals just spiked."

"A hundred years. A normal human lifespan without advanced medical tech. You didn't make the scanners." Jesse said softly. Ona shook her head but now Draco hissed. "Human minds are torn out and programmed to make the scanners. But... where would _Nikis_ get _human_ minds that wouldn't be _missed_? Who _couldn't_ disobey orders given to them?"

"We don't know." Ona said weakly. "I mean, we have surmised that he... cloned..." She froze. "No." She backed up a step, her tone turning horrified. "He wouldn't! Teacher _wouldn't!_ " But her tone said otherwise.

"He couldn't trust the Orokin." Jesse said softly. "He couldn't involve the Tenno who remained here." She waved a hand to encompass the Citadel. "The Tenno he was training needed medical help they could trust implicitly. And now? I was told that the data repository in my appendix held the memories of the AI that self destructed. And my hair is human DNA. But... not. So...Not Orokin. Not Tenno."

"Jesse..." Ona actually gulped. "Nikis is a _lot_ of things. I _know_. I have known him most of my life. He wouldn't _do_ that!"

"He wouldn't _work_ with the _Sentients!_ "


	12. Chapter 12

**Partitions**

"I don't think Nikis worked with the Sentients." Jesse said as Ona stared at her. "What I _fear_ is that he used some of their tech to do this." Draco and Ona both hissed at that and Jesse nodded. "And I am... not going to be capable for a bit." She was healed, but still very weak.

"Even if any of us would _let_ you risk yourself." Draco said sternly. "Which we _won't_." Jesse looked at the shrouded Tenno and then sighed. "You know you wouldn't be able to handle whatever it is, Jesse. You are good, but you are not fully trained."

"No, I am not." Jesse admitted, sinking back onto the bed. "So we call Olim. Get him here quickly."

"I will do that." Ona said, starting for the door. Jesse went still as a feeling for wrongness came through her. Not just from the _other_ , but from her _own_ code as well. The tiny Nyx wasn't being truthful.

"Ona." Jesse said flatly. The tiny Nyx paused at the door and Jesse continued. "Don't lie to me." She warned. "What are you going to do?"

"If there _is_ Sentient tech or worse in that vault, then it needs to be eliminated." Ona replied in a quiet voice. "You are not a Warrior, Jesse. I am. _We_ are."

"You cannot enter it." Jesse said softly.

"You might be surprised." Ona replied, still calm.

"Ona, if you enter his quarters, you will never even see anything out of the ordinary." Jesse protested. "There was nothing wrong." She slumped. "Until there was. He is seriously sneaky."

"And he left traps." Draco said into the silence after Jesse's words. Jesse turned to look at him and he shrugged. "Took me by surprise. Or did you think I threw _myself_ into the wall?"

"Didn't think about that actually." Jesse admitted. She smiled a little. "Been a little preoccupied." Draco chuckled at her wry tone and nodded. She sobered as she looked at the tiny Nyx who was almost to the door. "Ona, please."

"Jesse, we caused this." Ona said quietly. "We need to fix it."

"You won't find anything." Jesse pressed. "You searched before, no?" Ona nodded slowly and Jesse continued. "I am immobile for a bit." She patted her abdomen. "And I am no Warrior." Ona nodded again, clearly dubious and Jesse smiled. "So, let me try to get some more information. You can't be here for that. And no one will be able to listen in."

"Jesse." Ona's tone was flat now. "You know how Rachel and the others will react."

"Yes, I do." Jesse said quietly. "And they have a right to it. I have scared Raven in particular far too much in too short a time. But Ona..." She pleaded. "We need to know. We need to find out what to do. We have one source of information and they will not talk to anyone else but me." Ona glanced at Draco and Jesse sighed. "He gave them as little choice as I did but they can refuse to talk to me. If they do... I cannot press them too hard." Draco and Ona both nodded at that. "Please? Talk to the others? Keep them from freaking out too badly?"

"I will do what I can, sister." Ona promised as she turned and left the room.

"She is going to go in anyway." Draco said to Jesse who nodded as she lay her head back down onto the bed. "How you doing?"

"No pain now." Jesse said with a sigh. "Just really weak. I know I was lucky. That much blood loss could have easily been fatal. "

She swallowed hard and Draco grunted. She hadn't had any idea how badly she had bled internally. The AI or whatever hadn't said. But the doc -Roger- had been worried even though he worked hard to hide it.

"Yeah." Draco agreed. "I can understand why the AI acted as it did. Medical emergencies wait for no one. If they had taken time to explain, you would have bled out." Jesse looked at him and he snorted. "Still mad, but I _do_ understand."

"Right." Jesse sighed and opened her mind. _Only Draco is here and I will fuddle the sensors._

She cast out with code, seeking each and every surveillance system in the room. There were a number of them. She did not disable them. That would have caused alarms to sound across the citadel in all likelihood. Instead, she encapsulated each in small cocoons of her code. The vital signs monitors, she mostly left alone. Indeed, _she_ wanted to know if any of her vitals got worse. But the video camera was treated to an image of her falling asleep in the bed. The microphone would hear her breathing slowly taper down to sleep levels. If she wanted, she could fake a dream or two, but she hoped it wouldn't come to that. It was good practice, she had to admit. The code had to be perfect or the automated systems would detect the intrusion and sound alarms. But nothing happened and she relaxed as the code reported its work done.

It wouldn't fool anyone. If they had been listening as she had talked to Ona, and they likely had been, then they would be working themselves up to a fever pitch. So... another tendril of code locked the door.

 _We are as alone as we can be._ Jesse said into the recesses of her mind. _Can you speak now?_

 _ **-This is wrong.-**_ The other's voice was resigned. _**-You know this is wrong.-**_

"No, I don't." Jesse admitted. "Can you explain it to me? Why do you need the DNA that is on the hair that was remade? Do you need to clone someone?"

 _ **-We cannot say-**_ The AI or whatever it was' voice was quiet. _**-It is needed.-**_

"This is stupid." Jesse was beginning to lose patience. "We can help. If you let us."

 _ **-You cannot help us.-**_ Was the AI say that now? _**-All you do is place yourself in danger.-**_

"What can you tell us?" Jesse asked, forcing herself to be calm. "We need to do something. Something horrible was done and we need to undo it if we can. If we cannot, we need to know."

 _ **-You cannot help us.-**_ The AI repeated. _**-No Tenno can.-**_

"Wait a minute." Jesse had gone stiff. "What did you say?" There was no response. "Now don't be like that. I'm trying to _help_."

"They said no _Tenno_ can." Draco said quietly. "If _we_ can't, then someone else _can_."

"Who?" Jesse was confused. This place was a Tenno fortress. _The_ Tenno fortress. So who could…? She went still. She knew someone who might be able to.

- _ **You must not.-**_ The AI's voice was implacable now. _**-You**_ _ **will**_ _ **not.-**_

"You're not leaving us much choice." Jesse tried not to sigh. This was getting her nowhere. "We will do what we can. But there are limits to our power. If you help us, then we can do more. If you do not help us, we will still find a way. It is what we do." Her voice had taken on an edge of steel.

 _ **-You must not. -**_ The machine sounded… worried. _**-You will cause harm.-**_

"But I don't _want_ to." Jesse pleaded. "This is insane. We're trying to help. We _can_ help. Tell me how I would cause harm? Please?"

 _ **-That is forbidden.-**_ The other replied. _**-When we… What we wish is irrelevant. What must be, must be.-**_ Jesse stilled. Something about what they just said… She looked at the other Tenno and he nodded.

"Wait." The young Tenno said slowly. "Erect a secure partition. Designate Alpha 14." A portion of her code flowed from her hands. It surrounded her, penetrating her, bound her and her passenger into an unbreakable bond. "I am an idiot." She said with a sigh.

 _-No. No, you are not.-_ This voice was different. It wasn't as powerful. It wasn't as angry. It felt… Jesse felt her eyes start to fill. The pain…

"Have I hurt you?" Jesse asked, her heart in her mouth.

 _-No.-_ The voice was young. It sounded male. But not. _-You are very brave. You did not cause the pain. It is what we are, but while in this secure partition, it is muted and will not overload your synapses. If you attempt to do so outside of this partition, it will harm or kill you. And you are too stubborn not to try.-_

"Been said." Jesse said with a small laugh. Draco made a strangled noise but he did not move. Jesse shook her head. "What can I do?"

 _-You need to get the DNA to someone who can access it.-_ The voice of the other was calm. _-I cannot help any more than I have. The others are bound tighter. I have some freedom in this partition. Not much.-_

"Is there _anything_ I can do?" Jesse asked. She could feel the pain that the other was feeling. If this was the muted version, then no, she didn't have a chance.

 _-No.-_ The other replied sadly. _-We cannot harm you any more than we have. And we_ _ **will**_ _if you keep attempting access. So you must not. Tenno Draco.-_ Draco jerked but then nodded. Jesse jerked as Draco moved to the bed.

"No." Jesse pleaded. She tried to move, but Draco already had his hand on the sedation machinery. Her eyes closed quickly before she could even move. It did not remove the betrayed expression from her face for several minutes.

 _-I return to the others.-_ The AI said quietly. _-She still holds us within her. You must do what she cannot.-_

"I cannot leave her side." The bodyguard Tenno crossed his arms.

 _-If you do not do this, she will die.-_ The other replied evenly. - _She is dedicated. A bit_ _ **too**_ _dedicated. The others cannot keep her sedated. But they must keep her safe and secure.-_

"If you _lie_ to me…" There was nothing in Draco's voice. Nothing at all. Somehow, that was scarier than any screamed threat.

 _-There is no need.-_ The AI sounded resigned now. _-She will push. Her duty demands it. She is too vulnerable. We_ _ **must**_ _protect her. As must you.-_

"Well, what do you suggest I _do_?" Draco demanded, anger rising.

 _-Stasis.-_ The other replied. _-That is the only way to keep her from harming herself. She is not suicidal. But she will continue to push. Her duty demands it. Her oath demands it. She feels our pain. It calls to her and she can no more deny her calling than you can deny_ _ **yours**_ _.-_

"I know." The shrouded warframe slowly traced his hand over Jesse's hair. "She is a good kid."

 _-We will ward her as best we can.-_ The other sounded heartsick. _-She_ _ **is**_ _a good kid. A good Tenno. A Cyberlancer of which there are always far too few. We wish no harm to her but harm_ _ **will**_ _come. We cannot allow that.-_

"I know who can help." Draco said with a sigh. "The question… Will they?"

* * *

 **A few minutes later**

"You are out of your _mind!_ "

The scene was tense. When Draco had to carried Jesse from her hospital room, the other Tenno in the Citadel had been less than enthused. The less said about their reaction on finding out what happened the better. The fact that Jesse could subvert the Citadel's defenses so easily, the fact that she was unconscious -sedated- and add to that what Draco had just asked. It was a small wonder that people were upset.

Rachel stood with Roger and Ona stood slowly apart from them. All of them were glaring daggers at Draco who held Jesse's unconscious form in gentle hands.

"She's going to keep pushing." If Draco was bothered by the ire of the others it was not apparent. "You know it. I know it. She has bound the AI and she feels the pain that it does. They don't intend her to. But she feels it. You know what she will do."

"She will try to heal it's pain and that will kill her." Roger said softly. Draco nodded.

"And what you and the AI suggest…?" Rachel was not happy. "…will help her how?"

"From what little I understand, she is bound to the AI." Draco said reasonably. "That means that she cannot block the pain." He looked at the Volt who served as the doctor for the Tenno of the Citadel. Roger's posture was angry, but he nodded. "She _will_ look for ways to fix the problem. And she _will_ deny her body's demands. She _will_ keep pushing herself past her ability to heal. Tell me I lie."

"You don't." This from the tiny warframe that stood apart. Ona's head was bowed. "She serves. It is all she knows. She is too young and too inexperienced to know when to stop pushing."

"She is not a warrior." Draco agreed. "The AI thinks stasis is the only choice. The pain will keep her distracted. Keep her pushing to find a cure. A solution. It said that no Tenno had the cure."

"No _Tenno_?" Rachel asked slowly. Draco nodded. "You already went to the Orokin." Draco nodded again. "So what does that _leave_?"

"Something crazy."

* * *

It was hard. Draco done many hard things in his life, but this was worse than many. The tiny container that he cradled in one hand held the single strand of Jesse's hair that had been altered. The removal and securing had all been automated and painless. The container was a miniature stasis device so he had time.

He had time.

He stood and watched as Jesse was lowered the stasis pod. She looked so small and vulnerable. So lost and alone. He took a deep breath and turned to his companions. Raven had not said a word, she had simply arrived. He wasn't entirely sure what she wanted. So he did as he always did. He charged.

"Will you stay with her?" Draco asked. The glare she leveled at him said much, but told him little. "Elder Raven, you know…" He broke off as she snarled.

"She is _my_ responsibility." Raven was _not_ happy. "Deciding to put her into stasis without my okay was _rude_."

"We _did_ ask your permission." Draco said quickly. He knew enough about Tenno females not to anger her unduly. He was powerful, he wasn't stupid. She might not be a match for him hand to hand, but it didn't _matter_. "Jesse was and is in pain. Psychological rather than physical. She _will_ be until we can fix this."

"I know that." Raven's voice was flat. "But I am her sponsor. She is _my_ responsibility as well. Do _not_ think to exclude me." Draco looked at the other and gave a tiny nod. Raven looked at him and then nodded in return. "I will stay."

"Thank you, Elder." Draco said quietly. He wanted no conflict with other Tenno. And he did understand her ire. The sedative that Jesse had given with only last so long. They had to have her in stasis before it wore off. If she woke, she would fight. She might not be a Warrior, but she was Tenno.

"I'm going with you." The tiny Nyx warframe that stood to one side hadn't moved since they had brought Jesse into the stasis ward. Draco looked at her and she shrugged. "We can argue about this or we can get started on helping Jesse. What will it be?"

"Do not expect trust." Draco's words could have frozen hard vacuum.

"I don't." Was that a tinge of sadness in the Nyx's voice? Hard to say. "Our only concern is Jesse. When do we leave?"

"Meet me in the portal chamber in ten minutes." Draco's voice was less than polite, but no one in the room would care. The tiny Nyx bowed and left the room. Rachel looked at him and Draco nodded. "You said to my quarters are untouched?" Rachel nodded. He turned and left the room without further word.

The Citadel was as he remembered but not. When Draco had lived here, it had been a center of learning. A hub of knowledge and had always been bustling with activity. Now? There was silence. It felt wrong. It felt _dead_. The mass of history weighed upon Draco as he walked. But as always, he ignored everything wasn't his job. It was what he did to stay sane. Or as sane as he was. He was reasonably well adjusted but there were times when he wondered. But he did know his way around and found his old quarters quickly. The door opened to his touch as if no time at all had passed. The room was as he had left it so long ago.

Looking around he didn't see anything out of place. The few mementos that he collected during his time at the Citadel, a few posters -some he still recognized and others he did not- what he had come for. He moved the paper partition out of the way and there it was. It lay quiet on its stand. Dormant. But he knew it was watching. It was always watching.

"It has been too long, old friend." Draco said with a sigh as he laid a hand on the sword's handle. And not just _any_ sword. The Nikana was not a normal Tenno blade. It was older. The basic design predated Orokin by _hundreds_ of years. But this was no normal _Nikana_. "I give apology."

Your path and ours diverged, wielder. The voice was not audible. Nor was it mental. It was more images than actual words. It connected to Draco in a way he'd never been able to explain. What was required of you was not something you could do. There was no honor to be found in forcing yourself into a path that you were unsuited for when there was no need. As always, the ancient wisdom that lived within the blade humbled Draco in any number of ways but it did not feel demeaning. Everything to the sword was simple and clear. He had always liked his talks with the sword. What brings you back to us?

"I have found my way." Draco said quietly. "I guard those who cannot protect themselves." A feeling of approval came from the blade and Draco nodded. "But now, my protectee is in danger. To aid her, I must go into deadly peril."

Then you will not walk alone. Without sense of transition, the blade he had been touching was at his side. And not alone. Another, shorter blade hung with it. We are with you.

"I am honored." Draco said and then turned and left the room. For the first time in a long, long time, Draco felt complete. Daisho, the twin blades of the Samurai, remade in the Tenno style were hanging at his side. He was not samurai.

It did not matter.


	13. Chapter 13

**Networking**

The battle had not gone well.

Corpus were many things. They were brainwashed, indoctrinated into the service of their Board and it's all consuming pursuit of profit. Being brainwashed meant that they often had far less flexibility than beings who could and would think for themselves. But as in all things, there were variations.

By nature, most of the beings who reached the rank of Executive in the Corpus were fairly wary souls. They were careful, timid even at times. This was understandable. While Executive had a great deal of power, they also had a great deal of responsibility and the punishments for failure were far, far harsher than the rank and file. If a Crewman or Tech messed up badly enough to be punished, they might face incarceration, fines, procedural physical rehabilitation (a clever euphemism for torture) or -if the situation warranted worse- they might face capital punishment. After all, if a Crewman or Tech lost his or her way, they could be replaced fairly easily. If an _Executive_ messed up badly enough to demand punishment... The _Board_ got involved. And what the Board might demand for punishment often made any physical pain pale in comparison. So it stood to reason that most Executives would toe the line exactly as demanded, not wavering from what their superiors wanted in any way. Safer for all concerned.

Most of the time.

There were some situations in which caution was worse than action. Even the lowest brainwashed Corpus crewman knew this. There were some times when inaction or slow and careful action spelled death. Or worse.

This was one of those times.

The Infestation was a horror nearly beyond imagining. Most of the Corpus had a rudimentary knowledge of the Infested. Some had more. Some _wanted_ more. But... There were problems. First and foremost, the Technocyte Virus was _not_ a simple disease. It _acted_ as a disease on occasion. But it wasn't just a disease. It was more a vector for change. So, many kinds of people in lots of places tried to use the virus for their own ends. It never ended well.

Say what you would about the Corpus, they _did_ have a formidable grasp of technology. While their knowledge base was a pale nothing compared to the glories of the past, the fallen majesty of Orokin, it was quite extensive. So when alarms had gone off for a breach in the quarantine labs of the secret Corpus research facility, the response had been instant and overwhelming. Unfortunately, it had also been utterly _useless_.

Before anyone had ever possessed a clue what was actually happening, the quarantine had shattered. Corpus proxies were very powerful, and they were numerous. But... something had happened. The controllers lost connection to the robotics. Ospreys, MOAS, even a Jackal. All had gone offline. That would have been bad enough. What happened next was worse.

The message came over every Corpus frequency. Despite frantic attempts to jam it or discover it's source, it played into the receivers of each and every Corpus. The voice was familiar. Most Corpus knew who Alad V was. Most hated him. The message was simple. And horrifying.

"Join us."

It repeated over and over despite many attempts to jam the transmission or shut down the com system. Then the screaming started. The Infested were coming. The Corpus knew they were doomed. But they would fight and if they could just buy their executive enough time...

"Sir?" The tech in charge of the team guarding the power room was tense. Stood to reason. Everyone was.

"This cannot be rushed, Tech." The Executive said quietly as he worked, typing keys at lightspeed as well as using a neural link to input multiple passwords. "If I mess this up, I get locked out and this was all for nothing."

"Yes sir." The tech said with a sigh as he turned back to the hallway. All of the ducts were blocked, some by the simple expedient of blasting them into rubble. No one believed that such measures would stop the Infested. However, considering that the day had started with the Tech being a part of two _hundred_ troops designated to guard the facility and now he was the sole commander left in charge of _nine_ troops, he would take anything he could get.

"Tech?" The Tech turned to his men and nodded. The others were on the edge of breaking down. All of them. One of the Crewmen was praying. A couple of the others were just blank. The horror that they had faced and fought would have broken -had broken- many.

"We have to hold them." The Tech said quietly as he checked his Supra. "We cannot _stop_ them, but we have to hold them long enough for the Executive to set the facility for overload. We can deny them a nest. No more." No one would meet his gaze. They all knew they were dead. They were all probably infected already and had been as soon as quarantine had failed. He jerked as the Executive sighed and retreated from the console, which was now blinking. "Executive?"

"It has started." The Executive hefted his pistol uneasily. "It will take several minutes to build in energy. And if they get in here... They may be able to stop it."

"Sir?" The tech demanded, confused.

"I don't know." The Executive admitted. "Rumors and hearsay. Some of the renegade's minions are smarter than... Holy Profit!" He brought his pistol up and the tech spun to see the Jackal was striding towards them. But... it wasn't the proud Corpus automaton that it had been. It looked _wrong_. It was the wrong color. Then he realized _why_. It was covered in organic mass. Ospreys flitted around it. They looked just as wrong. "Keep them out of here!" The Executive screamed as he opened fire. The Cestra bolts hit the Jackal and bounced off.

"You heard the boss!" The tech called to his people as he opened fire. His team did as well. All but one. "Marcus G-12! Shoot!"

"I..." The crewman shook his head. "I... No..." He shook his head again. "No!" He screamed and then his Penta burped. But the grenade did _not_ fly towards the approaching subverted mechs. It landed in the middle of the group, less than a meter from the stunned executive! Before anyone else could even blink, the Executive kicked the glowing metal orb. It flew out into the hallway and exploded, doing no damage. The tech had the errant Crewman in his sights, but the Executive was there.

"Put it down, Marcus G-12." The Executive said quietly, pulling the Penta from the Crewman's nerveless fingers. "Put it down. The rest of you, keep firing." He commanded the others. The Crewman did not resist. The others fired, destroying several Ospreys and driving the Jackal to its knees. All knew it would not stay there.

"I am sorry, Sir!" The crewman was actually _crying_. "I can't stop it! They are in my head! I can't..."

"I know." The Executive sounded sad now. "I am sorry. Profit numbs the feeling." His Cestra barked and the Crewman fell, a hole in his helmet. His killer rose and turned to face the hallway, his posture angry now. "Blast you madman! You cannot just take our profits, can you? You have to try and take our _souls_ too?"

"Sir..." The tech said quietly as the Executive took cover near the door to the room.

"It has been many years since I used a pistol, Tech." The Corpus boss said quietly. "But I haven't forgotten how." He nodded to the Jackal. "When it gets up, focus fire on its right front leg, That will bring it down again. When that happens, pour everything we have at its body. We can't kill it. We _can_ slow it." At the tech's curious look, the Executive shrugged. "I studied proxy weaknesses, trying to find ways to overcome them. That design is flawed in some ways, but normally perfectly functional."

"Too bad the Infested got hold of it." The Tech grunted and the Executive nodded. "Did the message go out?"

"Yeah." The Executive said softly. "They will stay away now. I added the roster. Everyone's next of kin will know."

"Thank you for that." The tech let his mind wander for just a moment, thinking of his wife and child. But then a sound of tortured metal came from the Jackal. "You heard the Executive! Right front leg! Fire!"

The fire from six Deras, a Tetra, a bootleg Braton that someone had hoarded and a Cestra joined the Tech's Supra. All of the bolts hit the leg of the machine. It turned and the tech swallowed as metal flanges opened on its forward shoulders. He had a bare moment to pray and then the world lit up.

* * *

Something pulled him back to pain. Everything was wrong. He was wrong. He felt wrong. It was...

Metal screamed nearby and his gaze was pulled to the hallway where... two dark forms were surging against the Infested Jackal. One was tall, one was short. Both held blades. Tenno!

 _What the?_ He tried to speak and could not.

 _Don't try to move._ The words were calm, clear and precise. And they were inside his head! _You are badly hurt._ He couldn't tell where the words were coming from. _I am not there, Tech Julian H-67. Look to your left._ He did and something inside him quailed as he saw another Tenno. This one was kneeling beside him. Behind... it... he could see pieces. A hand, still holding a Cestra. A helmet. A boot. None connected to the bodies they had been part of. The voice came again as the Tenno slowly bent down to touch his cheek. _Hello._

 _Tenno do not talk._ Tech Julian H-67 said softly. _I am going mad._

 _No, you are not._ The other's voice was gentle. _You are changing._

 _Knew I was dead as soon as quarantine broke. Infested or Corpus clean up teams. Same difference._ Julian H-67 said sadly. _But... The bomb!_

 _Still ticking._ The gentle voice said. _We have five minutes. You fought well._

 _No way to win._ Julian H-67 sighed and relaxed. _What happened to me?_

 _You were caught in the blast._ Why was the Tenno gathering him up? Holding him as he shuddered? _You are the only one who survived in any way. And you are Infested._

 _Kill me then._ Julian said sadly. _Can't go back._

 _No._ The Tenno was still that odd gentle. _But you do not have to die. I can help you adjust. Care for you. It is what my duty entails. To care for those who are Unclean, but not lost._

 _I don't understand._ Julian H-67 said slowly.

 _It will always be your choice. Live or die._ The Tenno replied as she rose to her feet. _If you die, your biomass will be absorbed by feral infested and used by them. Even with the bomb, they will return and use any biomass they can find. If you live, you can never go back to what you were before._

 _I..._ Julian swallowed hard and froze as something whipped past his face. It... looked like his hand, but... wrong. _I can't live like this. Kill me._

 _Is that what you choose?_ The other asked, still gentle.

 _Yes._ Julian H-67 said softly.

 _You did well, Julian H-67._ The Tenno's tone was sad now as she laid him back down. An odd three bladed saw appeared in her hand. _Rest now._

* * *

Jasmina, Caretaker of the Unclean, rose from her grisly business and turned to scrutinize the battle. She had faced Jackals before, but never this kind of odd mish mash of Corpus tech and Infested flesh. Alad V had been melding Corpus tech with flesh to make his monstrosities, but this was the first time she had seen a Jackal fall prey to such. And she had to admit, the pair assaulting it was _unlikely_.

The tiny Nyx warframe was known to her. Ona was one of Nikis's students, a product of Orokin genetic manipulation during the war with the Sentients. She was half Jasmina's size, but she wielded her Skana expertly. The bolto pistol she had slung across her back seemed incongruous, but it was better than her companion.

Jasmina had met the shrouded warframe who called himself Draco before. But this was not the remote and forbidding bodyguard she had met on Avalon. Going there had been rough, but she admitted, she was better for facing her demons. But it wasn't the fact that she couldn't see what warframe he wore that had her freezing in place.

 _Those blades..._ The mind of her partner Elenia was as stunned as Jasmina herself. _Those... can't be..._

Every Tenno, be they warrior or not, knew blades. Every Tenno knew a great deal about blades. How to use them, how to maintain them, how to counter most forms of attack with them. And every Tenno knew some of the history of the blade in Tenno culture. It was part and parcel to what Tenno _were_. Masters of Blade and Gun. Some, like Elenia and Nikis, preferred to use firearms, but _all_ knew the basics. The blades that Draco was wielding, parrying attacks and striking with such speed and grace that Jasmina could only whistle in awe, were known to her. Just as they would be known to every Tenno who saw them.

 _'Honor' and 'Duty'._ Dust's mind was -if anything- even more stunned.

Then, as if he was aware of the scrutiny or had simply tired of the combat, Draco lashed out with both blades. Ona struck as well, her diminutive form hiding strength far beyond human norms. Jasmina fought back another whistle as one of the Jackals legs simply flew off. Another hung by a few artificial tendons, obviously useless. Ona's strike, obviously by plan rather than accident, bit deep into the machine's hull. Directly over where the CPU was housed. He had dropped it _exactly_ where she could reach to kill it with one blow! Talk about _teamwork_!

 _Lets..._ _ **not**_ _fight this guy._ Dust said quickly as Jasmina stared. _**Ever**_ _._ _Wouldn't be pretty._

 _No._ Jasmina agreed as she stepped forward. She spoke evenly. There were no living enemies anywhere nearby. "We have three minutes until the bomb goes off. Why are you here?"

"Looking for you." Draco replied. Jasmina stiffened and Draco nodded. "I come in peace." He swung both blades in an ancient gesture designed to clean blood from them, then they were back in the saya at his hip. Nothing flashy. Nothing showy. He was a lot like Nikis in that regard. He had done it for so long he made it look effortless when it wasn't. "Will you trust our ship if I give my word you will take no harm?"

 _What the hell?_ Dust asked for the entire mass mind. _He doesn't need to ask. He could easily force you._ The he paused and scoffed at himself. _No, actually he couldn't. Not with 'Honor' and 'Duty' in his hands._

"You bear the past." Jasmina nodded to the swords. "They accept you?" Draco shrugged.

"It has been a long time, but yes." The shrouded warframe said quietly. Ona did not speak. That was odd to Jasmina.

"We should go." Jasmina started off at a run and the others kept up with her easily. "I will ride with you. If just to find out where you found _those_." She jerked her head to the swords.

"They found me." Draco replied calmly. That cryptic statement puzzled Jasmina as they ran through the destroyed Corpus facility.

They made it to the airlocks with a minute to spare and cycled through. Jasmina had already called off her own ride. They would remain close in case she needed an extraction, but somehow, she doubted she would. The interior of the Liset seemed extra crowded with three in it, but Ona moved up to the cockpit without a word. Jasmina stared after her and then turned her full attention to the shrouded warframe.

"Why me?" Jasmina asked.

"Because I needed to talk to a Caretaker." Draco knelt slowly into seiza. But his hands were steady in his lap. "And you were the only one that anyone had any kind of trace on." Jasmina shook her head a bit ruefully. "You did no wrong, sister."

"I still fall back on old habits at times." Jasmina retorted. "Warning the Lotus about the Infestation outbreak there seemed the right thing to do." She sighed.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Draco asked reasonably. Jasmina looked at him and he shrugged. "Nikis told me nothing about your quarrel with the others except that your mate died." He paused and bowed his head. "You have my condolences."

"Thanks." Jasmina slowly knelt into seiza as well. "Our trust has been abused." She ignored the pokes from various parts of the mass mind with the skill of long practice. They did not like her fixating on her hatred.

"I have not done so and I will not." Draco said calmly. Then he snorted. "If I did? The swords would correct me. And _not_ so gently."

"They really do that?" Jasmina asked and then froze as another mind spoke.

We have our purpose just as you have yours, Tenno Jasmina. Jasmina swallowed hard and bowed her head. Be at ease, Tenno. Our wielder is an honorable being. Any who would try to make him act otherwise will learn to regret it.

"I... believe they would." Jasmina said with a sigh. "My anger is strong. My hate is strong. I scare my family with it." Draco nodded.

"In the end, we are the sum of our experiences, Sister." The shrouded Tenno said in a voice that was not unkind. "Yours have been bad. Mine?" He shrugged. "I crossed the line when my former protectee was taken. I hurt innocents. I did penance for that. I thought about what I did and why. In the end? I am stronger for it."

"So, why do you need a Caretaker?" Jasmina asked after a moment. He did understand. That was clear. He knew hate. He knew rage. He knew.

"Because Jesse is in danger and we cannot find the answers." Jasmina stiffened at his words and the shrouded Tenno continued. "She is in stasis, for now. And we were told that no human, Tenno or Cyberlancer could find the answer."

"Maybe an Infested _can_."


	14. Chapter 14

**Consulting**

"This may take some time." Jasmina said quietly as she stood by one wall. She had flatly refused to take Draco and Ona to where her family were hidden. Instead, she had guided the other two Tenno to a small, out of the way asteroid facility. It was still, the inside of said asteroid. Too still. They were not alone. Draco hadn't liked handing Jasmina the capsule holding Jesse's hair but the Caretaker had refused to speak of who she was taking the sample to. She had taken it and vanished. Draco had toyed with the idea of following her, but Ona had quashed that idea. It hadn't been long before Jasmina had returned, empty handed.

"It will take as long as it takes." Draco replied evenly. "Are we secure here?"

"As long as you stay in this room, yes." Jasmina looked away for a moment and then looked at Ona. "You are awfully quiet."

"Lots to think about." Ona said sadly. "Teacher is a good Tenno, Caretaker Jasmina. I... do not want to think he is capable of what I fear he may have done."

"We don't know." Jasmina replied. "That old fart keeps a lot of secrets." Draco looked at her and she snorted without humor. "He knows what I say about him. He trained me." Draco made a noise of understanding. "You?"

"He was one of my instructors at times." Draco replied. "And I hung around with him quite a bit after I left the Citadel."

"But not with those." Jasmina nodded to the blades at Draco's side. "Those were lost."

"No." Draco did not elaborate. Jasmina looked at him and he shook his head.

"People are going to be curious." Jasmina pressed. "They are well known."

"The _legends_ are well known." Draco retorted. "You know how much _fact_ is in _legend_ , no?"

"But they spoke." Jasmina protested. Draco just looked at her and she sighed. "Okay, fine. Don't answer me." She looked from Draco to Ona and shook her head. "Why are you so tense around each other?"

"He doesn't trust me." Ona knelt, her posture speaking of readiness. Jasmina stared at her and Ona nodded. "It will come out. Now is as good a time as any. The scanner that Jesse was subjected to? Nikis made it. But we -the first of his students- made the first one. The prototype."

"With an AI." Jasmina stated, but paused as Ona shook her head. "What?"

"Not an AI. Not quite. A consciousness that existed within an artificial environment, but not an artificial intelligence." Ona corrected her quietly. "The original consciousness was from a human mind." Jasmina stiffened and Ona continued before the Caretaker could speak. "And no. We did not ask."

"You killed a human to make those things." Jasmina spoke slowly and carefully. Ona nodded. "That is... evil."

"We were _made_ by humans." Ona was still calm somehow. "They hurt us. Master Richard, Teacher and Dustin were _all_ hurt by humans. No, we had no reason to _trust_ humans."

"So you tore the mind out of a human, put it in a machine and programmed it to act as a medical scanner AI." Jasmina's shock and horror were mirrored by the mass mind she was connected to. Elenia was out of her warframe and it was all the others could do to keep her from being sick. "That is what the _Sentients_ would have done!"

"That's just it." Ona said softly. " _We_ didn't program him." At that, both Draco and Jasmina jerked, staring at the diminutive Nyx. "We tore his mind from his body and put it in a machine, but he was already programmed to obey."

"To obey _who?_ " Draco asked, his hands on the swords at his waist.

"Anyone who gave him orders." Ona replied. "He complied with all of the instructions. We were angry." Her voice was sad now. "Master Richard was gone. Hurt and in cryo. Nikis had left. He came back and we rejoiced, but...He was different. Harder. We thought we knew him. But he was cold. So cold." She actually _shivered_. "He brought that man to us and asked for our help. Of course we did. He was our Teacher. It was only later, after he left and did not return, that we started asking ourselves what we had done and why." She slumped a bit. "There can be no excuse. We may not have enslaved him but we _did_ imprison him."

"There were a bunch of those scanners." Jasmina said slowly. "Mavri's colony has one. Karl's dojo another. Where did the others... come... from...?" She paused as horrid thought came to her from the mass mind. "He _didn't?_ " She exclaimed.

"We think he used the prototype we made to make others." Ona said quietly. "All of them programmed to avoid detection. If discovered, they self destruct. The ultimate hidden slaves." Both Jasmina and Draco stared at her and she shook her head. "The Tenno needed medical care they could trust and the Orokin were not to be trusted." Draco looked t her and she sighed. "Yes, I know. Tenno serve. But there are limits. What the Orokin did to Teacher's mate. To his son. To _us_..." She slumped a bit. "We could not trust them. Nikis would not trust them for something so vital."

"Still..." Jasmina's voice was low and worried now. "What you did was wrong."

"I am not saying it wasn't." Ona replied. "All I am saying is that a whole lot of people who were half-trained or less and thrown into the worst conflagration in recorded history had medical support apparently because of what Nikis did." She looked away from the others. "Yes, what we did was wrong." She met Jasmina's gaze with her own. "But if the situation happened the same way again? We would do it again."

"You cannot be _serious_." Jasmina sounded horrified now. "You... You would do the same thing today? To a non-consenting human?"

"Tenno Jasmina." Ona said quietly. "The Orokin betrayed us. They _made_ us. They experimented on us and used us to keep Teacher and Dustin in check." She raised a hand and held it palm down. "We will never trust them. Ever. And if it comes down to it? Between Tenno and humans? We _will_ choose Tenno every time." Draco hadn't moved and Ona nodded to him. "I didn't think that would surprise you."

"What you did was wrong." Draco said quietly. "But I can see the point of view. Your only experiences with the Orokin were bad." He sighed. "Not all of them were evil."

" _Enough_ of them were." Ona's voice could have chipped steel. "And the few times we approached Orokin personnel, they...did not react well to us." Jasmina looked at her and Ona bowed her head. "We learned not to. Occasionally, we tried to help during the war. But they always demanded more than we were willing to give. When we wouldn't give? They tried to _take_." She shook her head again. "Never again. When the Ancient Enemy rose, we had to help Master Richard and Teacher, so we did. We are Tenno and that is what we are _for_. Not to help _humans_ out of their stupid messes." Now her voice was matter of fact. Somehow, that was worse. Jasmina looked at Draco who shook his head slowly.

"Hate is a virulent poison, Sister Ona." Draco said quietly. "I know that better than many."

"I do not hate humans, Brother Draco." Ona corrected him quietly. "I reserve my hate for beings _worthy_ of it. They are not worth my time." Draco sighed and she stared at him. "What?"

"I can see Nikis in you." Draco said softly. "He left and didn't go back, did he?" Ona shook her head. "He always was wiser than me." Was that regret in his voice now? Jasmina wasn't sure.

"What?" Ona demanded.

"Sister Ona, you walk a _dangerous_ path." Draco's words were gentle, but his hands were on the swords. "I know that path well. I walked it myself." He said softly. "You know my history." Ona nodded. "I hated my father for what he demanded I do. I left the Citadel and I never went back until Jesse came." Ona and Jasmina were both staring at him. "I left everything behind to be a bodyguard full time. I focused on my work to the exclusion of _all_ else."

"Focus can be good." Jasmina protested softly. Draco acknowledged the point with a tiny nod, but his gaze was on Ona.

"It can be." Draco agreed. "Or it can be a very bad thing. Every Tenno is different. Every path is different."

"I do understand." Ona sounded resigned. "But my path is set."

"Is it?" Draco said with a shrug. "It doesn't have to be."

"I am not like you." The diminutive Nyx crossed her arms and set her posture defiantly.

"Oh… More than you might think." Draco sounded _amused._ "No Tenno is truly like any other Tenno, but some of us do have similar experiences in our pasts. Wow. This conversation is familiar." He shook his head. "I had this same discussion with Hayden once. I was young and full of rage. It took some time but I did see in the end. The question, is what will it take to make you see?"

"Are you trying to _save_ me?" Ona sounded somewhere between incredulity and derision.

"Do you want to be?" Draco's voice was odd. There was a bubble of amusement, but it was eclipsed by something that sounded great deal like regret. "I am no cleric." Draco said with a sigh. "Just a brother. A brother who's made some serious mistakes. Frankly, honor is all well and good. Duty is all well and good. But in the end, the only thing that really matters is kin." He looked at Jasmina and shook his head slowly. "There are limits to what I can do. I'm no shaman. No priest."

"Why would you want to help?" Jasmina asked slowly. Draco shrugged and Jasmina shook her head. "Everyone is trying to help me. I don't need help."

"No?" Draco asked, his gaze focused on the Ember Prime. "Right now, it's none of my business. As long as it doesn't endanger Jesse. If it _does_ , it will _become_ my business." This was a statement of fact. And a warning. Both the Ember Prime and the tiny Nyx nodded. "No one is asking _anyone_ to trust blindly. Frankly, I found many humans to be selfish and stupid myself. I dealt with them quite a bit in my line of work." The others nodded slowly again. "Right now we're not discussing humans. Right now we're not discussing Orokin history. Right now we're discussing what happened to Jesse, what Nikis did, and what we do now."

The two female Tenno sat back at that. They glanced at each other and that Draco who sat without moving, his hands still on the swords.

"Are you going to draw on us?" Jasmina asked slowly, her hand hanging free. Ready to draw her Glaive.

"No." Draco said firmly. " I don't want the swords to get any ideas." Both of the female Tenno stared at him and he chuckled without mirth. "The problem with making a weapon or weapons sentient is that then it or they have minds of their own." Both of the others made noises of confusion and Draco sighed. "Honor and Duty. The swords were created to fulfill a purpose. To serve as guides. Not always gentle ones."

" I don't understand." Jasmina felt even more confused now and Ona's posture was very confused.

" I know." Draco sighed again. " The swords were made…" He paused. "My mother made the swords."

" _ **Nyx**_ made Honor and Duty?" The two other Tenno in the room chorused. They looked at each other and chuckled, but then turned back to Draco and waited for his reply.

"Nyx always did have a firm grasp of ethics." Draco nodded. "But she also knew not everyone did. She knew that she was…" The male Tenno trailed off for a moment and looked away.

"Mortal." The caretaker said softly. Draco nodded again. "She was the designated executioner." Draco did not react. "Why would she make such weapons? Making a weapon sentient it is essentially making a slave, no?" Draco did not react, did not respond. Someone _else_ did.

You know not of what you speak Tenno Jasmina. The voice was not from a human like throat. Indeed, it wasn't a voice. It was mental, images more than words. But it was totally understandable. We were created for a purpose. We fulfill that purpose. We are not slaves. If anything… The words trailed off as Draco growled.

"Enough." The cold hard word silenced the room. "The swords exist. They have minds of their own. They have a purpose. That purpose aligns with ours. For now that is all that is needed. Do not push them or me." Was it Jasmina's imagination that the longer sword was partly out of the scabbard? She did not dare look too closely.

"Very well, brother." The Ember Prime was very careful to keep her hand still and in plain sight. Then she jerked. Another mind was reaching out for hers. She raised a slow hand a 'Stop' gesture. The others nodded, but remained silent. The mind of the one she had come to consult pressed into hers. It was not human or Tenno.

 _It is not human DNA. It contains some human DNA, but that's not all it is._

"Not human DNA?" Jasmina queried aloud. The other two Tenno stared at her and she shook her head. "It was." She protested.

 _There is some human DNA on the strand that does not match the root. But it's not just human DNA. It also has a highly complex algorithm embedded in the genetic structure._

Jasmina repeated all of this and Ona tensed a little. But the diminutive Nyx did not speak. Jasmina looked at her and then at Draco. The bodyguard nodded.

"What kind of algorithm?" Draco asked slowly. Jasmina relayed the question and waited.

 _This is not something we have seen. Or… It is not something we have seen for a long time._ As Jasmina translated, the others went still. _This seems like Sentient technology. The feel is similar._

" _Feel?_ " Ona asked slowly. Jasmina relayed again and they waited.

 _We do not remember everything. Much of what we are is lost or garbled. So many memories. So many lives. So much pain._ Jasmina could barely translate the last. The feelings were awful. From their postures, the other two Tenno heard the pain in her voice.

"I'm sorry." Ona said quickly. "We did not mean to give offense."

 _You did not. The past can hurt. But we have to learn from it or we repeat it. But we often repeat it anyway._ Jasmina smiled a bit as she translated that. The other mind felt rueful amusement at that. _This is not something we have encountered. But it is similar to some Sentient technology that we have encountered. If it_ _ **is**_ _Sentient technology, then it will be very dangerous. Caretaker, be wary. We cannot lose you._

" I will." Jasmina said with a sigh. "Can you interpret the algorithm?"

 _It seems to be coordinates. It also…_ Jasmina tilted her head as the voice paused. _Oh… Dear…_

"What?" Jasmina asked quickly.

 _It's targeting data._ The other mind said quietly. _Information on who, where, and when._

"And?" Jasmina prompted. She knew this being. She knew then it took a _lot_ to confound this being.

 _The boy's name is John. It doesn't say what will be done to him. But if what you imply is true, it will not be anything good. He is 24 human years old. He lives in a small colony on Mercury. It gives a schedule of activities. Detailed to the minute. And the listed date is_ _today_ _as humans tell time._

" _Today?_ " Ona demanded after Jasmina had finished speaking. She started to rise, only to stop as Jasmina motioned for her not to move. "Is someone going to _kill_ him?"

"That kind of information might be needed for an assassination. But why assassinate a _human_?" Jasmina shook her head. "No, not an assassination. A _snatch?_ "

"Who? Who would do that?" Ona demanded, but Draco was shaking his head. "What?"

"They scanned her." Draco said with a snarl. "They _scanned_ Jesse. The mind or minds inside that machine _have_ that information." Jasmina stiffened and Draco nodded. "They are probably already there."

"So what can we _do_?" Ona demanded. Jasmina sighed and reached for a pocket. The others stared the she pulled a large golden key from it.

"Give me the coordinates." Jasmina beckoned the others as information came into her mind. They rose and moved towards her. She took the tiny Nyx's hand and Ona took Draco's. Both of the others stiffened as a huge shadow appeared in the doorway.

 _Good luck, Caretaker._ Phorid said in a tone that was remarkably quiet for its huge size as all three vanished in a haze of golden energy. Then it went back to its lair and started another game of four dimensional chess.

* * *

 **Mercury**

It was a quiet day. No emergencies. Not even any visitors. He really hated days like this. They seemed to last forever. The clinic was quiet, a good place to study and he was. He hoped to be a doctor someday but he knew that would be a long time. But there would be lots and lots of study and work. Until then, he helped out in the medical clinic.

He was on the third chapter of his histology textbook when it happened. He didn't hear anything. Just… He was suddenly drowsy. He felt weak all of a sudden. He tried to sit up and could not. He tried to call out and could not. Fear rose and it quickly gave way to panic as he realized he couldn't move at all. He heard a hum. It seemed to come from behind him and it was coming closer. He struggled in whatever was holding him and through sheer force of will managed to turn his head. But what met his eyes was nothing he had ever seen before.

The oddly shaped oblong thing was hovering in midair. It looked… dirty. A beam of energy played out from it and he could not even scream as it engulfed him and pulled him in. Well, he couldn't scream _aloud_.

And in moments, he couldn't scream at _all_.


	15. Chapter 15

**What evil?**

Draco, Ona and Jasmina materialized in an empty room. It was fairly large and its purpose was clear with just a glance. It was a medical clinic. But it was empty. No one at all. Draco looked at the others and shook his head slowly. He moved to one wall and Jasmina moved to another. Ona nodded and moved to a bank of machinery nearby. She started tapping controls. Draco moved along the wall and Jasmina mirrored him. Neither Tenno had weapons in hand but both had hands _on_ weapons. No enemies presented themselves, but neither lowered their guard. Jasmina moved to the single door and glanced outside. Draco waved a question to her and she shook her head. Nothing. Draco stared at her and then shook his head. Something was very wrong here.

 _Nothing at all?_ Draco asked mentally. Jasmina shook her head again the tiny Nyx did not respond. Draco turned her but she was focused completely on the machinery. He focused his mind and sent another message to Jasmina. _This is not right, is it?_

 _No._ The Caretaker replied slowly. _These are the right coordinates. This is a medical clinic. Where is everybody? There should be_ _someone_ _here. Staff, patients, someone. Every medical clinic I've seen…_ She trailed off as Draco waved at something nearby. _What?_

Instead of answering, Draco pointed to the table nearby. On it, a datapad lay. It was still active. Draco moved to the table and examined it. It was a medical text of some kind. He did not know what kind. He turned to the Caretaker and shook his head.

 _We are too late._ The bodyguard sounded resigned. He turned to where Ona was still working. But the tiny Nyx did not acknowledge him. He shook his head and turned back to the Caretaker. _Whoever was here took him already. Do we have any sensors in this area we can trust?_

 _Not that I know of._ Jasmina sighed.

"Internal sensors are offline." Ona reported. "There were several anomalous energy discharges and then everything seems to have turned off. Slick." She shook her head and turned to the table where the datapad lay. The scanner appeared in her hand and started to whirr. "How would they moved him? Humans are fragile. Portals tend to do damage unless the person is protected." She nodded a bit. "Energy discharge residue here. Readings are consistent with a paralysis beam. You were right." She said to Jasmina. "They wanted him alive. But for _what?_ "

"I don't think we will like the answer to that." Jasmina said with a scowl in her voice. "Can we track the residue?"

"Probably." The diminutive Nyx said quietly. "But if we head out into the colony, we're going to attract attention."

Draco nodded and his hand that was not on the longer sword's handle dipped to his waist. He tossed a small object to Jasmina and another to Ona. Then his form wavered and where a shrouded warframe had stood a dark haired human man in a nondescript bodysuit now stood. He smiled at them as a skintight helmet covered his head down to his mouth..

"Bodyguards learn all kinds of tricks to protect people." Draco moved to the door. "You should be able to access the holo disguise interface with your neural connections. Give them a try."

Jasmina stared at the tiny device. Then her form wavered and a woman with fiery red hair appeared in her place. She wore the same kind of bodysuit Draco did. She shook her head as it was covered as Draco's was.

"How good are these and how long will they last?" The Caretaker stared down at herself and gave herself a shake. Her body moved as it should. "These are sneaky."

"If you're not cheating, you're not trying hard enough." Draco said with a grim look. "I would prefer you don't tell anybody about these. I like my secrets to _stay_ secret. As for how long? They run off your warframe power supplies. The drain is negligible. With a basic level of power, the disguises will last for at least eight hours." He and Jasmina turned to the other Tenno who was eyeing the device. "Problem?"

"Will this make me look like a child?" Ona asked. Draco shook his head and Ona stared at him. "How?" He just looked at her, his face blank. The tiny Nyx sighed and then her form wavered. In moments, a small human female appeared where the tiny Nyx had been. Not a child, a small adult. She had dark skin and hair. Again, the suit covered her head, leaving her mouth free. She stared down at herself and then that the others. "I don't feel any different." Then she smiled. "Duh. It's an illusion."

"Right." Draco agreed. "Let's try not to make a mess, but we do need to find out what's going on here. Weapons tight and try to let me do the talking if we have to."

"Can you track the energy?" Jasmina asked as she moved to the door again. Ona nodded but then paused.

"My scanner is a Tenno design." Ona frowned. "It's unlikely they will have seen anything like it."

"We are investigating odd energy readings." Draco shrugged. "Stands to reason that we would have gear specialized for such. Let's go."

The trio moved in concert to the door, Ona with her scanner in hand. Outside of the clinic, the streets of the colony were busy. It wasn't a large colony, but they had arrived during a shift change. Their bodysuits fit in, everyone wore similar garb. No one paid them any mind even when Ona's scanner beeped and she led the way down a side tunnel.

The colony was built into the rock of the planet. Which stood to reason. Even Orokin shielding would have had trouble keeping a colony full of humans safe on the surface of the planet. Avalon was a once off. The former getaway for the Orokin emperors was protected by insanely powerful shields, but more than half of its power accumulation was devoted to simply keeping said shields powered. If they failed, even for a second, everyone on the hideaway station would die. No one but the Orokin emperor could have afforded such shielding. For normal people, building a colony in the depths of the rock of the planet made far more sense. It was far easier and less expensive to maintain life support in such a place.

Ona had an eye on her scanner as she walked. Draco and Jasmina watched the area. No one bothered them.

"There!" Ona cried as a small conveyance drone appeared ahead of them. On it, a large crate was laid. She bit back a scream as a small device rose from the crate and turned towards them. Both of the other warriors had weapons in hand as the Sentient drone turned to face them.

"Keep anyone who might investigate away!" Draco commanded as he stepped forward, a Braton rifle appearing in his hands. Ona nodded and turned back the way they had come. They were in a small tunnel, far away from the main colony. But that did not mean it was untraveled. And any humans coming along would be in terrible danger. "Hold!" He commanded and the conveyance stopped. "Surrender your prisoner!" The drone did not respond and Draco's visible face scowled.

"Looks like we do it the hard way." Jasmina said with a sigh as her rife appeared in her hand. The Synapse bio-rifle crackled with energy as she powered it up. She dodged to the side as a beam of energy flew from the drone. It missed her. Draco's quick burst of return fire did not miss and the drone exploded into fragments. "We need to hurry!" Jasmina said as she stepped towards the transportation drone. "Those shots will bring people!"

"Maybe." Draco said with another scowl as he covered her. "Then again... if they hear shots, what will they assume?" Jasmina paused and then nodded.

"They will assume someone is attacking them and either fort up or run like hell." The Caretaker said with a sigh. "When nothing happens, they will investigate. We need to be gone by then."

"Don't _touch_ that!" Ona exclaimed as Jasmina held out a hand. Jasmina jerked it back as the disguised tiny Nyx pushed past her. "If it _is_ Sentient tech, it is _very_ dangerous. Both to humans _and_ to us."

"If he is in there, we cannot just _leave_..." Jasmina started to say and then broke off as the crate...opened. What met the Tenno's eyes was horror.

It _was_ a young human male. He was folded up inside the crate which wasn't quite large enough for him. Tubes ran from the sides of the crate into his body in various places. A mask covered his nose and mouth and his eyes were shut. Easy to see, since a dingy gray beam of energy was just finishing evaporating his bodysuit. A tendril was extending from the end towards his head and it held a large bowl shaped object.

"Don't let that touch him!" Ona snapped. "That is an enthrallment device!" Quick as thought, Draco lashed out with one of the swords at his waist. The tendril parted easily and an eerie screech sounded as the machine fell to the bottom of the crate. She stepped closer, her scanner whirring.

"Well?" Jasmina asked after a few moments. Ona's mouth was set in a grim line as she turned back to the others.

"I don't know." Ona replied, her tone angry. "Definitely Sentient bio-tech but... odd." She shook her head. "They have begun the enslavement process." She slumped a bit. "I don't know of any way to stop it. Jasmina?" She nearly begged. The Caretaker looked at her and Ona stiffened. "What?"

"I just consulted the mass mind. That device..." Jasmina indicated the bowl shaped object with the muzzle of her rifle. Her voice...was odd. "...is not in any databanks we have access to." Draco stiffened at her tone. "We have been allowed access to far more than we had before. Ona." She said slowly. "How did you know what it was?"

"It looks like various Sentient devices..." The disguised Nyx trailed off as Jasmina shook her head.

"No, it doesn't." Jasmina retorted evenly. But her rifle's aim point...shifted a bit. "How did you know?" Ona stared at her and then slumped a bit. "We _trusted_ you." Now Draco was aiming at the tiny Nyx as well.

"If you believe nothing else we have said..." Ona said quietly, not moving. "Please believe this. We are not enemies of the Tenno." Before either of the others could react, she reached out and touched the crate. It -and she- vanished in a haze of dingy grey light.

"What the hell?" Draco and Jasmina both exclaimed as one. Then both went still as the sounds of humans in the distance came to them. Investigating the gunshots. Without a word, both started off, deeper into the tunnels. Well, without an audible word.

 _I knew we couldn't trust them!_ Draco fumed in his mind. _We need to get back to the Citadel. Now._ Jasmina shook her head.

 _Something else is going on here._ The Caretaker replied. _And I do not know if I would be welcome there._

 _No one will dare._ Draco replied, his anger a cold and dangerous thing. _You are with_ _me_ _. But we will need a ride to the Tower. I can get us to the Citadel from the Tower._

 _They knew._ Jasmina said slowly. _They knew what was happening. I bet they were far more involved than she said._

 _For now, let's just get out of... aw frack!_ Draco and Jasmina came to a sudden halt as the tunnel ahead of them erupted in light. A dozen hulking forms appeared behind the lights. Grineer.

"Bases! Surrender and take your rightful places in servitude!" An amplified voice sounded. "For the Queens!"

Draco and Jasmina looked at one another and then without a word, they both dropped their camouflage. The Grineer had a bare moment to gawk as the two incandescently furious Tenno charged and started to take out some of their frustration.

This was _not_ a good day to be Grineer.

* * *

 **The Citadel**

Raven was tired. But she was sitting in vigil. Jesse's pod was closed up tight and the girl slept peacefully. The Elder ran a hand over it for a moment, her heart sad. Jesse was so good. Bright, always trying to be cheerful, young but not innocent and-

She never heard the small form that came up behind her and activated a small device. It froze her in place. The form -it was an Excalibur in small- held up five fingers and three other forms appeared. All were warframes in miniature. One of then -a tiny Trinity- scanned Raven and then the pod. She nodded to the others. A tiny Ash laid something on the pod that Jesse lay in. In moments, a dingy gray haze enveloped the sleeping Cyberlancer. Then she was gone. He tapped the device again and another form appeared where Jesse had been. In form, it was the Cyberlancer. None of the scanners surrounding the pod reacted at all.

The tiny team of Tenno retreated as swiftly as silently as they had arrived. The Trinity was the last one to leave. Her posture was resigned as she touched Raven's shoulder before retreating. Raven jerked and stared around, but nothing was out of place.

"I must be more tired than I thought." Raven said with sigh. "Ah, Jesse. I better meditate. I get the feeling this is going to stress both of us."

Prophetic that.

* * *

 **Elsewhere**

Jesse roused. Something was wrong! She was... it was...

"Easy Jesse." The young Cyberlancer did not know the voice. She tried to call code and it would not answer her. "Easy." The other crooned. "Just relax. We are almost done." A jerk inside her had Jesse flinching and then she recoiled into her mind as energy burrowed into her mind.

"No!" Jesse screamed as she closed her mind up tight around the code she had gathered from the machine in Nikis' quarters. But then something smashed through her outer barriers as if they did not exist, tweaked her mind and she was falling. So slowly.

* * *

"Damn." Ona said as she worked feverishly, trying to extract the Sentient code from the Cyberlancer's own. "Can we cover that up?"

"I don't think so, Ona." The tiny Trinity was monitoring Jesse's vitals as the diminutive Nyx worked. Her voice was sick now. "If we wipe that from her memory, it will leave traces that our kin can detect. They _are_ going to look. They _will_ figure it out."

 **-We can aid-** The voice of the Sentient machine came to both of them and Ona snarled at it.

"Shut up! You have done _enough!_ " The Nyx was not happy. Not at _all._ "If you had simply _followed_ the _program_... But no. You had to put out feelers, keep your scanners under your _own_ control. Moron. As soon as that old scanner came online, you demanded it follow its original function. Had to replace it when it was found out. You may have doomed this poor sister as much as you doomed that human!"

 **-Neither is lost, Tenno-** The voice of the machine was calm. Irritatingly so. **-We do as we were programmed.-**

" _Sure_ you do." Ona snapped and turned to a tiny Vauban warframe. "Can you shut it up?"

 **-Tenno, we are designed to assist!-** The machine begged as the Vauban moved to a console. It's voice trailed off into a hiss of static and all of the small warframes relaxed, just a little.

"And we cannot trust anything that it does." Ona retorted into the silence. "Nikis commanded it. Nikis had the codes. We don't. All we have are hardwired overrides, which it _will_ find a way around eventually." She paused and then sighed. "Damn it, girl! What the _hell_ did you do?" She slumped back away from Where Jesse lay and shook her head. "She bound it up tight in her own code. I can't get it out without doing irreparable damage."

"And we can't kill that thing with Jesse bound to it because that will kill _her_ as well." A tiny Frost said slowly and the others around them looked at each other. "Damn." He echoed Ona.

"Why don't we ask her help?" The Trinity asked into the silence. "She isn't stupid."

"She is bound by her code as surely as any of our kin are." Ona said with a sigh. "To help AIs." She gently stroked Jesse's brow. "Even that monstrous thing that we helped make."

"Then we explain it _all_." The Frost replied and Ona stared at him. "As Suno says, she isn't stupid. She knows about the Sentients. But there is simply no way she can know what she has bound herself to. Nikis himself didn't know until it was too late."

"I know." Ona said with a sigh. "I guess...now is as good a time as any. Wake her." The Trinity -Suno- nodded and laid a hand on Jesse's brow. In a moment, Jesse groaned. "Easy girl. You have had rough day." The tiny Nyx said sadly. "And that is entirely our fault."

"Ona?" Jesse asked, her eyes cracking. She froze as she stared around. "Where am I?"

Ona knew what she was seeing. This facility was nothing like the gleaming halls of the Tenno Citadel. It had been carved from living rock by sheer power. It still looked -by design- like a cave filled with technology. But for Ona, it was home.

"This is where we lived before we went to the Citadel, Jesse." Ona forced her voice into gentleness even though tension sang through her. "We um... kidnapped you."

"Why?" Jesse did not react externally, but Ona could feel her energy start to solidify into barriers as her code went to her aid. Instead of answering, Ona turned and pointed to one side. Jesse looked that way and gasped as she saw a human lying on a table covered by dirty looking medical gear. "What have you done?" She demanded. She tried to sit up and could not. "What have you _done?_ "

"Jesse, please. You are in no danger from _us_." Ona begged her. "We are trying to undo our mistake. But to do that, we need to explain. And we will." Jesse glared at the Nyx and then slumped a bit, her code still flaring.

"Then why not just do what you want to do?" Jesse demanded. "After all, that is-" She broke off as Ona shook her head savagely. " _What?_ "

"If we did what we wanted to do, with no regard for the consequences, you would be dead, Jesse." Ona replied without heat. The Trinity shot her a glance and Ona sighed. "We want the abomination that Nikis had us make destroyed."

"And I bound it to me." Jesse said slowly. All of the tiny warframes in the area nodded. "So you cannot."

"Which is why we need to explain."


	16. Chapter 16

**Truth**

Jesse stared from the tiny Nyx warframe to the unconscious human on the table. He was covered in gear she did not recognize. But it looked _wrong_. The other small forms that knelt around the area remained silent as she thought. She was lying on what looked like the floor of the cave, but on something that was comfortable. Finally she spoke.

"What have you done to me?" She fought to keep her voice level. It was hard. She had been abducted and hurt -even brainwashed- before.

"We pulled you out of the stasis pod and left a replica that will fool sensors for a short time." Ona replied evenly. Jesse jerked and Ona nodded. "We wanted you in stasis because you were going to do something rash. Trying to save a Sentient AI _defines_ rash, Jesse." She gave a small chuckle that had little mirth in it.

"A Sentient AI." Jesse said flatly and then grimaced. The Trinity was at her side in an instant. "Don't _touch_ me!" She tried to jerk away and couldn't.

"Jesse, we have not hurt you." The Trinity said quietly as she scanned the young Cyberlancer. "But you woke up too soon and we put you back to sleep. Your body is stressed. Check your code." She urged.

Jesse looked at the tiny Trinity. Then she sighed and did just that. What met her diagnostic was unpleasant. She was not hurt in any way that her code could identify, but...

"What the _hell?_ " Jesse asked as she stared at herself. At the dark _stuff_ that was seeping around her code. None of it hurt. But she could tell it wasn't supposed to be there.

"Jesse." The Trinity said urgently. "Calm down. We can help. If you let us." She held out a hand. "My name is Suno. I am the closest we have to an actual doctor here." Ona snickered and the Trinity snarled at her. "Hush."

"The only reason you are not a doctor, Suno, is that you never took formal classes." Ona said with a snort. "Jesse, she is good."

"She can't _trust us_ , Ona!" Suno snapped. "As far as she knows we brought her here to _brainwash her_." Jesse stared from the Nyx to the Trinity and back. The Trinity laid her right hand in Jesse's. "You need help." Jesse just stared at her and Suno slumped a bit. "Jesse, please." She begged.

"I am supposed to protect AIs..." Jesse said weakly. "What... what happened?"

"Jesse." Ona said quietly. "The code you pulled in was not intended to infect you. But Sentient code was _designed_ to do that. _All_ of it. That is how they subverted the Orokin technology. They implanted AI code into the devices and gave them minds of their own. Enslaved minds." She sighed. "They did the same for humans they captured." Jesse hissed and Ona nodded. "Yes. The human that Nikis brought to us had been captured by the Sentients. He was a medical doctor who went out into the outer system to treat anyone he could find. Human, Tenno, anyone. They took him. They broke him. But they were always about efficiency. He was a Healer. So they used him for that."

"In one of their their enthrallment centers." Jesse said flatly. Ona nodded. "Oh geez..."

"Yes, Jesse." Ona agreed. "He was a Sentient slave. He had been...reprogrammed to serve them. To heal their slaves. I don't know how Nikis found him or how Nikis got him away from the Sentients. But he brought the man to us. We were incredibly angry. And..." She looked away. "We were not gentle." The pain in Ona's voice was heartfelt. There was simply no way the tiny Nyx was faking this. None of the others would meet Jesse's gaze either. "What we did was wrong. But the Tenno who Nikis were training did need advanced medical support. They got it."

"I have never been in a war, Ona." Jesse said softly. "I do not know what I would do in such a case. Such a horror makes me angry, but Trinity always said I shouldn't judge unless I could understand all sides. I can't here. It is hard. Very hard."

"It gets worse." Suno gave Jesse's hand a squeeze.

"Sentient tech inside the man's mind." Jesse said slowly. "Self evolving code." Suno and Ona nodded. "Oh no!" She swallowed hard as realization struck. "I put _self evolving code_ inside me?"

"Yes, Jesse." Suno said softly. "Code that _you_ now have inside of _yours_." Jesse jerked and Suno held her down with her free hand, not releasing her grip on Jesse's right one. "Easy!" The healer commanded. "We can ward you for a time. But we need to get it out." Jesse nodded and tried to release the code, but it wouldn't. It was stuck to her somehow!

"I can't let it go!" Jesse said, her eyes starting to burn. "I can't get it _out_! Oh _god_! What do I _do?_ "

"Jesse!" Suno said sharply as she took a firm hold of Jesse's hand. "Calm down. I am going to put you on oxygen and run a couple of drips. Okay? Fluids and restoratives. Nothing more. Okay?"

"Any... energy will exacerbate the code. Allow it to replicate faster." Jesse swallowed hard but paused as Suno nodded. "What?"

"Which is why we are going _really_ old school." Suno waved and a miniature Saryn laid a tray by the Trinity. Jesse's eyes went huge as Suno started working with... the needles. "It won't hurt." Suno promised. "A few stings, nothing more." But then she shook her head. "If you trust us."

"I..." Jesse slumped a bit. "The AI will take me over, won't it?"

"That or kill you trying to do so." Suno said quietly. "That is what it was designed to do."

"And him?" Jesse glanced at the still human on the table.

"Nikis designed the containment system to keep the AI secure." Ona said with a sigh. "He wasn't perfect though. Every so often, it breaks through the controls so, he needed new firewalls to block it every so often. New locks. He set it up so that the...subjects feel no pain."

"Subjects?" Jesse felt horror start to dawn again. "What do you mean?"

"Jesse." Suno gave her hand another squeeze. "Any Orokin human used approximately 20% of their brain's capacity. Modern humans are no different. There were and are exceptional cases who use more, but none have exceeded 25% that we know of." Jesse looked at her and she nodded. "Yet anyway."

"Tenno use more." Jesse said flatly. Trinity's lessons had been thorough.

"Far more since we are not limited to the biological makeup of the brains." Suno agreed as others of the miniature warframes started working on things nearby. "We didn't know what Nikis had done until Ona brought the latest...subject here. He is lost, Jesse." Suno said sadly. "We can't save him."

"You don't know that." Jesse protested. She went still as Suno looked away and a sob escaped the tiny Trinity. "Suno?"

"Yes, we do." Suno said sadly as she turned back to Jesse. "If you could use your code safely, we could show you. His mind is being rewritten from the inside. His memory altered. We can't stop it without killing him. The enthrallment wasn't completed, but... Jesse... when he wakes, he will be the perfect slave. He will not be able to disobey any order _anyone_ gives. He won't want to. Nikis... planned this well." She bowed her head. "Death is far more merciful than such a fate."

"Why?" Jesse begged as she gripped Suno's hand tight. "Why did _Nikis_...?"

"He was desperate." Ona said sadly. "He couldn't trust the Orokin. He had... new pupils. Many of whom he said were the equals of any he had known. High praise." Jesse nodded to that. "The Orokin threw them into the fray, often half trained, ill equipped." Jesse's eyes went huge at that and Ona nodded. "Nikis is not a good man. But he has limits. Watching his students die and be unrecoverable over and over again pushed him past those limits."

"I guess I have no choice but to trust you in this. Go ahead Suno." Jesse said weakly. The medic agave her hand another squeeze and released it to start working. "But this... He did _this_?"

"He did." Ona said as Suno wiped Jesse's arm with something. Jesse ignored the medic, only hissing as something stung her elbow and then her hand. Whatever it was made her feel a little better though. "The Sentient Healer that he... acquired is _incredibly_ dangerous. It believes, with every fiber of it's being, that what it is doing is not just right, but needed. That humans will work better as slaves." Ona slumped a bit. "Part of that... is our own anger. Our own hate. It colored what we did. We hated humans. We still do for what they did to us, to Master Richard, to Teacher and to Dustin."

"I see." Jesse slumped a bit and Suno gave her hand a pat, then held out a mask to her. "What is this?"

"Just oxygen, Jesse." Suno said quietly. "I do not like your blood oxygen levels, but that is because you came out of stasis so fast. It will pass. The restoratives will help. Do you have a headache?" Jesse thought about that and nodded a little.

"Not a bad one, but yes. You know what Draco is going to do." Jesse said as she took the mask and slipped it over her nose and mouth. The gas felt cool and she felt no different. "Even if all you did was take me... He will not react well." Ona and Suno shuddered a bit and nodded.

"Jesse, we are going to need his help." Ona said softly. Jesse stared at her, dumbfounded. "And yes. I angered him. Badly." She nodded to the unconscious human. "Caretaker Jasmina, Draco and I went to try and keep this one from being taken and changed. We were too late. They realized I knew more than I was saying and reacted... badly." She said in a tone of profound understatement. Jesse winced and then nodded.

"Oh dear." The young Cyberlancer said with feeling. "Okay. First thing to do is tell people I am okay. Then tell them what happened to me." Ona seemed to wilt and Jesse shook her head. "There is a time for obfuscation and there is a time for truth. Which is this?"

"Truth." Ona said quietly. "Until we got him back here, we didn't know how bad it was. Then, we had to try and help you. Rachel and Roger and the others wouldn't have been able to."

"And you couldn't have done it _there_?" Jesse demanded.

"Well... Yes." Ona seemed to wilt under Jesse's glare. "But they would focus on the energy. Not on the code." Jesse looked away from the tiny Nyx to where Suno was hanging a pair of bags on hooks attached to one wall. Tubes ran from the bags to Jesse's left elbow and hand.

"Can I go back?" Jesse asked. Suno looked at her and then nodded slowly. "How badly will it energize the code?"

"We can shield you for the trip." Suno said with a frown in her voice. "Jesse, you need to know. Without our shields, which deplete with each use, any power that is used on you will accelerate the code's growth." Jesse stared at her and then at the code inside herself. it... She paused. it wasn't black like Olim had said Sentient code was. it was more... She realized what it was and fought to remain calm. She wasn't doomed. Yet anyway.

"No, it won't." Jesse said quietly. Suno and all of the others stared at her. "You all are good. You are well trained and very experienced. But you do not know everything. You don't have any programmers among you, do you?" Suno stared at Ona and the Nyx shook her head.

"Basic only." Ona said with a shrug. "Why?"

"Because even if the machine and him..." She nodded to the unconscious human. "...are totally subverted by Sentient code, that is not the end. Code is code. This darkness within me is not anything I know. It is code, but not any I have seen. I need to talk to Olim. Because if I am right...we may be able to help him..." She nodded to the human again. "If we can... then we can help the one called Medicine Man and myself."

"And if you are _wrong_?" Suno asked slowly.

"Then I am dead." Jesse replied offhand. "But I am not wrong." The tiny warframes looked at each other.

"Ok. None of us are Cyberlancers." Suno said after a moment when none of the others spoke. "What do you need?"

"I need to stop Draco from sounding a full on alert when he finds out I am gone. So we need to head him off _before_ he finds out." Jesse thought for a moment. "Where did you get him?" She nodded to the human again.

"Mercury." Ona sounded less than enthused by all of this. "Why?"

"Because we really need to head Draco off before he opens the gates of hell. We better get to Iriana's Tower, fast."

* * *

 **Mercury Tower**

The Mercury Tower was silent. No one dared speak. _Everyone_ made way for the shrouded warframe. The absolutely furious Ember Prime beside him was almost inconsequential. The waves of terror and anger pouring off of Draco were palpable. One security guard curled up on the floor and started to cry as the pair of irate Tenno stalked by. Another bent over and lost her lunch.

" _Draco_?" Iriana stepped into view, her face pale. "What the hell?"

"I need to go to the Citadel." Draco's words were calm, but underneath lay power. A bone deep rage lay just below the surface. "We have a problem."

"Draco." Iriana said sharply. "You are terrifying my patients." The healer stepped in his way and he stopped just short of her. "Calm down and explain." She shivered a bit but held her ground. "Please?"

"You are brave, Healer." Draco tilted his head a little, scrutinizing her. He took a long, slow breath and the power radiating off of him ebbed a bit. It did not vanish, it just faded a little. "The Tenno known as Ona has betrayed us."

"What?" Iriana demanded. "When? How?"

"Jasmina, Ona and I went to Mercury to try and stop a kidnapping. We failed but only because Ona teleported away with the victim." Iriana's eyes went huge as Draco spoke evenly. "We do not know why."

"Draco." Iriana swallowed hard. "We just received a message that she is coming here. And that she needs a full quarantine setup." Draco stilled and Jasmina at his side did likewise. "I was setting it up when you arrived. She made _off_ with a kidnapping victim?"

"Yes." Jasmina had a scowl in her voice, but she was obviously relaxing a bit now that Draco had. "The problem is... The tech that we saw looked an awful lot like Sentient tech." At that, Iriana actually backed up a step and most of the others within earshot did as well. "If it is, then a quarantine makes sense. Her making off with a hurt human does _not_."

"I don't understand." Iriana said weakly. "I have worked with Ona and her people. They are good. Good people. Why would they...?" She shook her head. "Never mind. You won't know any more than I do. They should arrive in a few minutes. They asked for a full quarantine with medics on site."

"Iriana, if it _is_ Sentient tech..." Jasmina sounded sick and Iriana looked the same.

"I will put in a call to Olim." Iriana promised. "Come on. You two will want to talk to them and getting you away from here will let everyone get their composure back."

"And let the ones who lost control of their bodily functions change their pants." Jasmina said with a snort. Iriana just shook her head and Jasmina sighed. "Doc, I need some levity right now. This has been rough." Then she paused. "Sentient tech doesn't work so well on Infested, Iriana. If I -we- can help..." She trailed off as Iriana glanced at her.

"I will keep it in mind." Iriana said with sigh. "But for now? My people are unsettled enough." She shot a glare at Draco that slid off the bodyguard like water off a duck's back.

They made their way to another room. This one held a portal platform. Two of Iriana's techs were already in haz-mat gear, standing ready with a gurney and other gear. A portable quarantine enclosure had been set up around the platform and the techs. They both nodded to Iriana and she glanced at them. Then she moved to one wall. Draco and Jasmina followed her.

"Now we wait." Iriana said with frown. "Fun, fun." Draco did not react. Jasmina crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. Iriana looked sidelong at the Caretaker and Jasmina sighed.

"What?" The Tenno in the Ember Prime warframe asked.

"Jesse asked me to do a full physical while she was here." Iriana said delicately. "She told me why."

"She didn't need that." Jasmina sighed deeper. "We are probably going to say 'No'."

"Any particular reason?" Iriana asked softly. Jasmina glared at her, but the Healer did not retreat. "Jasmina." Iriana chided the other female Tenno gently.

"She is Janet's _kid!_ " Jasmina said sharply. "She is new. She is confused. She doesn't know what she is asking."

"Oh yes, she _does_." Iriana countered. Jasmina paused and stared at the healer. "Maybe she lacks practical experience, but she _has_ been studying."

"Why _now_ of all times?" Jasmina complained.

"We have a few minutes and you are being _stupid_." The Healer replied. Jasmina bristled but the Healer was unfazed. "Jasmina, it is _her_ choice." She sighed. "And yours."

"Iriana, she is a _kid_." Jasmina said sadly. "I... I can't."

"No, she is not." Iriana said softly. "And if you think that, you are in for one _hell_ of _shock_." Something suspiciously like a snicker came from the shrouded warframe but he did not move as the others looked at him. She nodded as the portal lit up. "Time." The glow was bright, but then suddenly Draco was in front of them, his hands on his swords. "Draco! Don't break the-"

Draco did not move from where he stood but all eyes turned to the platform and the several small forms that surrounded two larger ones. One that lay on a stretcher. The other stood on unsteady feet, tubes going from her left arm to bags that hung from a pole she held in right hand. Her grip was white knuckle tight.

" _ **Jesse?**_ " The incredulous name came from Draco, Iriana and Jasmina. The young Cyberlancer smiled at the others, but her face was pale.

"Um... Hi?"


	17. Chapter 17

**When Dragons Rage**

"Look... At the time it seemed like a good idea." Jesse said with a sigh as Iriana's techs worked.

None of the others had left. Ona and the four who had accompanied her had moved as far from Jesse as the quarantine enclosure allowed as the techs had closed in. After a quick check of the still unconscious human, both techs and focused on Jesse. Draco's barely controlled temper probably had something to do with that. His immediate response when she had been too weak to stay standing had not been pleasant and only her own impassioned pleas for him not to breach quarantine had sufficed to keep him from slicing his way in. The _only_ thing that really kept him in place was that Iriana was swift to verify that Jesse was in no immediate danger.

"Pulling _Sentient code_ into your _body_ was a _good idea_?" Jasmina demanded.

"I didn't know it was Sentient code. I am not sure it is." Jesse admitted as the techs finished their checks. Without the ability to use scanners, they had been forced to rely on ancient means of checking her vitals. Some of which had been very unpleasant. They _did_ have scanners and other gear, but none of it would be allowed out of quarantine. When this was done, all of the gear that could _possibly_ hold computer code would be loaded into a small pod that would then be jettisoned into a decaying orbit around the Sun. With some threats, there _was_ no overkill. "All I saw was an AI that needed help. That was going to extinguish itself. But..." She shook her head wearily.

" _But_?" Draco's voice was a bass rumble. It froze everything for a moment as terror resounded in it.

"Draco, I am okay." Jesse said sadly. "As okay as I can be. I am not going to die. Either way, I am not going to die. Please calm down?" She begged. "I need you. _We_ will need you." Everyone looked to the shrouded Tenno who gave himself a shake that was visible even through the holographic disguise and sheathed his blades finally. "Thank you."

"Jesse." Iriana sounded more than a bit annoyed now. "Whatever you are planning, you are hurt and sick. You are in no shape for it."

"I know." Jesse said as she sat. One of the techs patted her shoulder as they both moved to start carefully checking the unconscious human. "It is taking all I have to hold the infection. I can hold it, but that is all. Not indefinitely, but for some time. Did you contact Olim?"

"I did." Iriana's face was remote and Jesse winced.

"And Raven?" Jesse flinched as Iriana grimaced. "Ah... She didn't know I was gone, did she?"

"Not until Olim got there." Jasmina's voice was calmer than anyone else's. "Needless to say, _neither_ of them is _happy_." She glared at Ona who did not move. Wise of the tiny Nyx.

"We may have a chance to fix this." Jesse said quietly, gripping the pole that still held the bags that dripped into her arm. "I know what Nikis did, if not all of the particulars. I know _why_." She shook her head. "Tell me true, Iriana, Jasmina, Draco... In war, there are two kinds. Those who survive and those who do not. Yes?"

"Using _humans_ like that..." Jasmina started, but paused as Jesse nodded again. "Jesse, we were supposed to _protect_ humans."

"I know." Jesse agreed. "Jasmina, they couldn't _trust_ humans." She nodded to the unconscious form on the stretcher. "He is not dead."

"He might as well be." Jasmina retorted sourly. "We cannot let him live if he is..." She broke off as Jesse tried to stand up. She could not. One of the tech rushed to Jesse's side and held her down. "Jesse?"

" _He is not a Sentient._ " Jesse declared angrily, then she wilted. The tech supported her and she nodded her thanks. "I am okay. Just weak." The tech cast a pleading look at Iriana who nodded.

"Jesse." Iriana commanded. "Lie down." Jesse sighed and did as instructed. "One of you!" She snapped to the tiny warframes. "Hold the pole." A tiny Trinity moved to do so, but remained silent. "We trusted you, Ona."

"They made a mistake, Iriana." Jesse gasped. "They were furious over what had been done to them. With reason. What happened after... was not their doing. They made the first machine, Nikis made the others."

" _Jesse_!" Raven's impassioned voice preceded the Elder into view. She took a step towards the enclosure and then froze as she saw everything. The quarantine., Jesse. The techs working on the unconscious human. Her face hardened as she saw the tiny warframes. "You... You..." She sputtered incoherently. "You are _dead! All of you!_ " She was all but ranting at the tiny warframes.

"Raven, please." Jesse pleaded from where she lay. Raven stared at her and then forced herself to take a step back. But her hands were curled into fists at her side. Not a good sign. "Olim."

"I am here, Jesse." The Frost Prime Cyberlancer appeared behind Raven. He stared at her and then shook his head. "You _do_ find interesting problems, don't you girl?"

"What can I say, Master?" Jesse said with a small grin. "It's a gift." She met his gaze calmly. "Class four viruses. But not hardwired. There is extraneous. We can access." All of the visible faces looked blank but Olim shook his head.

"Jesse." The master of Cyberlancers said softly. "We cannot rewrite a _Sentient_ virus."

"It is not." Jesse said just as softly. "Master. Look." She held up a hand and something dark and hungry seemed to swirl around it. Both techs shied away from her. But... it was _orange_.

"Holy shit." Olim breathed as he stared at the code. "Is that what I _think_ it is?" The energy was like what _Nikis_ used.

"This is _like_ the Sentient code that you showed me records of." Jesse said quickly. "But it _isn't_. Very similar, but not the same." She nodded to the sleeping human. "I think a third level subroutine may be able to rewrite sections in sequence. We will need a script. Actually... Probably three of them. One for me. One for him. One for the main mass."

"Jesse." Olim said heavily. "I might be able to do that. But if I _do_... it would leave you _and_ me vulnerable. We can't do that."

"No. It won't." Jesse smiled a bit as she looked at Draco. "Not if we have help."

"Oh?" Olim turned to scrutinize the shrouded Tenno and then nodded slowly. "Interesting plan, Jesse. But _not_ something to just _jump_ into."

"We can do it." Jesse pleaded. "And if we _can_... We can undo the horror that was done before. I don't think Nikis _knew...!_ " She trailed off as Olim raised a hand.

"Jesse." The Frost Prime commanded. "Calm down." Jesse sighed and forced herself to relax. "Good. The plan _is_ fundamentally sound. But it will take a great deal of coordination. Healer?" Olim turned to Iriana whose mouth had dropped open. "What is her status?"

"She seems okay, except for whatever is inside her." The Healer said with a sigh. "She is physically weak from being woken from stasis too quickly, but beyond that, she seems fine. Not that I can tell too much without my tech." Her face spoke volumes about how she felt about _that._ But having tech around rogue code was a _bad_ idea.

"What are you _talking_ about?" Jasmina's tones was not quite a demand. "And none of the magical mumbo jumbo. Make _sense_."

"It is not magic, Jasmina." Olim shook his head, his tone rueful. "It is not even science _pretending_ to be magic. It is just code. But _not_ Sentient code." He nodded to where Jesse still had dark orange energy circling her hand. "Banish it, Jesse. I can see you wilting." Jesse nodded and the energy vanished. "Jesse has a plan. An interesting plan. Riana can find no holes in it. There will be. No plan survives contact with the enemy after all."

" _What_ enemy?" Jasmina snapped. Olim and Jesse replied as one.

"Nikis."

* * *

 **A few minutes later**

"You do know that this is a very _bad_ idea, right?" Draco hadn't moved from where he stood. Indeed, everyone gave him a wide berth. "Nikis had to have plans. He _always_ had plans."

"I know." Olim knelt in sieza at the edge of the quarantine enclosure. "A cursory study of the records available showed that. He was always dedicated to kin. Hence why he programmed the being he called 'Medicine Man' to assist kin. But as good as he was, he was not a programmer or Cyberlancer. There was no way to know all of the permutations without that kind of knowledge. For this to have lasted all this time without failing..." Olim shook his head and he voice held admiration. "He is good. No question."

" _Good?_ Nikis was one of the _benchmarks_ we used when I was trained." Draco said quietly. "He was a century older than me but I always felt a kinship to that crazy man. He never put himself forward. He just did what he had to do. Your arguments make sense. But..." He sighed.

"We need you, Draco." Jesse said from her spot just on the other side of the enclosure. She was well within Olim's reach. " _I_ need you. We can stop this. But we cannot protect ourselves from whatever defenses Nikis put in while doing so. And he will have defenses built into the code."

"Of course he will." Draco sighed as he held out a hand to Olim. "But you both will see things I have hidden for a long, long time."

"By my oath as Grandmaster of Cyberlancers." Olim said formally as Jesse nodded. "Your secrets are _yours_. What happens behind the mind _stays_ behind the mind. We will never speak of it. The swords?"

"I will need them." Draco said, his free hand touching the longer sword's hilt as he knelt as well. "I am ready." He took Olim's hand.

"Iriana?" Olim kept his voice quiet.

"I formally protest this." The Healer scowled. "Jesse is too weak for this."

"And I am only going to get weaker." Jesse said from where she lay. "But... You are right. Ona, Suno." The tiny Nyx and Trinity warframes jerked as she named them. "Here is your chance to help."

"They won't trust us." Suno said quietly.

"They are not." Jesse said softly. " _I_ am." All of the visible faces but Jesse's blanked at that. "What you did was wrong. But you had good intentions." She held out her hand to the Trinity who stared at it. "Here is your chance to fix this. To make good the potential that Nikis saw in you. To erase the shame of what you did. To put right what was put wrong."

"Jesse." Ona protested. "Nothing _can!_ "

"You don't know that." Jesse said calmly, still holding her hand out despite it starting to shake. She was trembling with effort as the other tiny warframes looked at Ona who slumped a bit. Finally, a tiny Frost stepped forward and took Jesse's hand.

"I am Maric." The Frost said quietly as he cradled Jesse's hand to his chest and knelt beside her. "Do not stress yourself, milady." Iriana and Jasmina jerked at his phrasing, but neither spoke as Jesse smiled at him. "We erred long ago. Perhaps we can do better now."

"You are not alone now, Maric." Jesse's voice was warm as she relaxed back and held out a hand to touch the quarantine enclosure. "I am ready." She paused and shook her head. " _We_ are ready."

"Very well." Olim touched the enclosure over Jesse's hand and...

* * *

Jesse landed on her feet, her golden nunchaku in hand. Olim appeared beside her as she scrutinized the area. The room was large, but not overly so. There was nothing in it. The walls, ceiling and floor were composed of golden code. She nodded to the Frost Prime who nodded back as he drew his golden Magister mace. She knelt as so did he, both laying their weapons across their laps. Then she screamed as power slammed into her.

 _ **BEGONE!**_

It was not verbal, that command. It was not mental. It was... both and more and less. Jesse focused her mind as she had been taught, then the pain receded as Olim extended his shields to cover her while she set herself.

"Shield... yourself... master." Jesse said through gritted teeth. "I have this." Her own shields snapped into place, yielding but firm as torrents of power swept over her. "I am as the grass in the wind." Jesse murmured as energy flowed over and around her.

 _ **GRASS CAN BE CUT.**_

The words were cold and hard as a dark form solidified nearby. It was a Nekros warframe. But not any Nekros warframe Jesse had ever seen. This one was golden and silver. Was this a _Prime_ Nekros? Energy surrounded it. Dark orange energy.

 _ **YOU TRESPASS. BEGONE!**_

The words from the other were so powerful that despite her shields, Jesse felt herself start to move. The shield protected her, but the whole _area_ was moving.

" _They_ trespass?" Jesse went still as a young voice sounded from nearby. Her eyes went huge as a _boy_ appeared. He wore no warframe but he was Tenno. He was neither young nor old. But the voice... She knew the voice! _Draco!_ "And what did _you_ do, you old _fart_?" He asked as he moved to stand between the two kneeling Tenno and the Nekros Prime. "You _spout_ about _Balance_ and _enslave_ humans? _You lying hypocrite_!"

 _ **You should not be here.**_ The terrible voice was lesser now.

"And you _should?_ " Draco demanded. "Why, Nikis? _Why_?" He demanded as two swords appeared in his hands, drawn. "Tell me _why!_ By the power of my mother's swords, Duty and Honor, I command it!"

 _ **It was needed.**_ The terrible voice was calm, but it was a facade. A ruse. The calm before the storm. Jesse could feel power gathering. Dark, terrible power. But not _just_ from the Nekros.

" _Why_ was it needed?" Draco commanded as blackness seeped from the hilts of both swords to cover the blades.

 _ **I... cannot.**_ The terrible voice said sadly as the Nekros drew a huge scythe. _**Forgive me, my old friend. I have no choice.**_

 _ **Neither do I.**_ Draco's voice was suddenly just as dark and terrible as Nikis shade's was.. Jesse's eyes went huge as Draco's form vanished and suddenly a warframe stood there. And _what_ a warframe! It was a Volt. But... not. A Volt _Prime_. But... not. Silver. Not gold. And that silver had a _dark_ _red_ aspect to it. A darkness that _matched_ the Nekros' orange energy. Then Jesse remembered. All Tenno who wore Volt warframes had the potential to go _berserk!_

"A _Volt_...?" Jesse swallowed hard. "Oh no..." She stared at Olim whose hands were moving fast.

" _Focus_ Jesse!" Olim snapped. "He is buying us _time_!" Jesse nodded and started weaving her own code as the Nekros and the Volt charged each other.

She forced herself to ignore the sudden torrents of power that flew around her. She forced herself to ignore the fear, the pain, the rage that flew everywhere as the Volt and Nekros exchanged blows that might have toppled mountains if they had happened anywhere but inside her mind. She quailed a bit but kept her focus on the code as _Rage_ fought _Death_ in the recesses of her mind.

She could only pray that whatever damage she took would be repairable. She hadn't had a _clue_. She finished her first script and started the next. The battle continued, now the energies that flew around her were different. The orange energy was lesser, the red darkness was growing. She finished her second script and nodded to Olim. He nodded back and vanished, but a holographic female with a half mechanical face remained in his place.

"We have to hold it." Jesse said to Riana who nodded. "Long enough for Olim to set the scripts in motion and..." She broke off as a scream pulled their attention to the battle. What met her eyes was horrifying. "Draco! NO!" Without thought, Jesse was on her feet, her shield still around her as she ran to where the now _blood red_ Volt Prime warframe stood with both swords poised over the slumped form of the Nekros. Orange code poured from the Nekros' wounds. "If you destroy him here, it will all be for naught!"

If the Nekros' avatar was destroyed, there was no avenue for Olim to get the code into the others. If _that_ happened... She and the human would likely have to be destroyed as well as the AI in the Citadel. The Tenno simply could not take the chance.

"Jesse!" Riana tackled her as both swords came up in a perfect scissor cut. If Riana hadn't tackled her, the strike would have cut her in half. "That _isn't_ Draco!"

"Oh no..." Jesse swallowed hard as the Volt turned to face her. She stared at him and then nodded slowly. "Yes, it is, Riana. Step back. Hold the shield."

"Jesse..." Riana protested as Jesse slowly knelt and bared her neck. "What the hell are you doing?" Jesse ignored her, all of her attention was on the Volt.

"I didn't know." Jesse said sadly. "I am sorry, Draco. I didn't know. I have used you. I have abused you. I have been... a bad sister." Riana hissed behind her, but she ignored that. "I have misled you. I have led you into mess after mess after mess. And you have always been there to pull me out. I didn't _know._ " She pleaded. "Please... My protector. Forgive me."

" _ **I... warned you, Jesse.**_ " Draco's voice was still that terrible thing. _**I chose to pay this price. To be what I am. To use what I am for others. But in the end, my imbalance will doom me. I accept that.  
**_

"But you are more than that!" Jesse protested. "You are so much more than this." She waved a slow hand the blood red warframe. "Please!" She begged again as she readied herself.

 _ **I am sorry Jesse. I am what I am.**_ The Volt said as his swords fell. But she had enough time. A flip of code and _she_ was under the swords and the _Nekros_ was lying where she had been. Draco... did not have time to alter his swings.

The swords _were_ incredibly sharp. The cuts didn't hurt.


	18. Chapter 18

**Heroes**

Jesse was warm and comfortable. She felt...good. Nothing hurt. She had expected...

Her thoughts slithered to a halt as memory came crashing in. She had moved the shade of the Nekros out of the way of Draco's blades, interposing herself. She had assumed he would stop or deflect his strikes. He hadn't. She remembered the cold. It hadn't hurt. But then... She was here. Wherever here was. She opened her eyes and froze.

She was lying on a mat of some kind, her head on a pillow. She was inside a small building that seemed to have six walls. The walls looked flimsy, as if they were made of paper. The frames of the walls seemed to be made of wood. She did not recognize the architecture. Odd things hung from the ceiling over her. They had light inside them that flickered. Some looked like some kind of fish. Others like things she couldn't quite identify. She stared down at herself and she was wearing some kind of robe, but it too wasn't anything she could identify. It was white and looked archaic, but it was comfortable.

She jerked as one wall slid aside and a dark haired young woman appeared. The woman's face was solemn, but her eyes were kind as she looked at Jesse. She wore an ankle length red robe that was both practical and beautiful. She bowed.

 **Good morning, Cyberlancer Jesse.** Jesse started, she knew the voice. That was the voice of one of the swords Draco carried! The woman smiled at her. **Yes. I am Duty.**

"I... um..." Jesse swallowed. "I meant no offense."

 **None was taken, Cyberlancer Jesse.** The woman said with a smile. **What you did was very brave. Our wielder is very good at what he does, but to defend you, he had to unleash parts of himself that he cannot easily control.** She shook her head. **Which is why he reclaimed us.**

"I do not understand." Jesse said weakly. The other stepped into the building and knelt beside her. "No... I..."

 **Be at ease, Cyberlancer Jesse.** Duty said with a small, sad smile. **We were made for one purpose and one purpose only. To aid our wielder in controlling himself.**

"What?" Jesse felt even more confusion rise. "That doesn't make _sense_."

 **Perhaps not.** Duty replied evenly. **But we can explain. Can you rise?** Jesse looked at her and then sat up slowly. Her head swam for a moment and then she nodded. **There is another who wishes to speak with you.**

"What is happening?" Jesse asked, aware that she was not where she had been. This... wasn't her mind. It was too alien, even if everything felt familiar and right, it wasn't. "I do not know this place."

 **No.** Duty stood as well, she led the way out the door and Jesse hurried to keep up. **You do not. You are no longer in your own mind.** Jesse came to a sudden stop but Duty smiled as she turned back. **You are in mine.**

"I... what?" Jesse demanded. She was _inside_ the mind of a sentient weapon?

 **Come.** Duty inclined her head to the side and started off again. Jesse gawked for a moment and the followed. The area almost seemed like a Zen garden, if far larger than any Zen garden Jesse had ever seen. She saw rock and sand, bridge and water. Small things moved in the water, but she ignored that.

This made no sense. In a virtual world, she couldn't be killed by a simple sword cut, even swords as powerful as Honor and Duty. That was why she had pulled the shade of Nikis away from Draco. She had hoped to calm Draco down a bit, get him to...

Her thoughts took an abrupt left turn again as Duty led her into another small building and the other occupants nodded to her. Another ageless woman who looked almost exactly like Duty knelt beside a warframe. And not just _any_ warframe.

"Hello Jesse." The Tenno's faceplate was retracted, her face solemn. "Has anyone told you recently that you are _crazy?_ " The First Nyx asked in a tone that was just a hair too sharp to be respectful.

"Yeah." Jesse said with a sigh. "That was not well thought out."

"No." Nyx sighed and her face relaxed into a sad smile that mirrored Duty's. "No, it wasn't. You are not dead. Not for lack of trying. Come. Sit with us." She indicated a pace beside her. Jesse nodded to Duty and knelt. "You have met Duty. This is Honor." The other woman nodded to Jesse who returned it. Duty turned and pulled a tray from somewhere. On it, a tea set lay ready. Duty set it down and started working, brewing tea.

"Draco is going to go nuts." Jesse said into the silence. Nyx nodded. "I didn't know."

"How could you have?" Nyx asked quietly. "My son keeps secrets like no one else I have met. Besides Nikis that is." She qualified sourly. "I swear... that boy... _Both_ of them." Duty handed her a steaming cup and she accepted it with a smile.

"Nikis made Medicine Man to provide medical care for the Tenno outside the Citadel." Jesse accepted a cup of her own and took a sip. It was very good, no surprise. Nyx nodded and Jesse continued. "He linked to it. He didn't mean to, but it took part of his inner energy to contain the evil."

"Nikis was always a planner." Nyx said with a sigh as Duty sat beside Honor. "Ever since the very first moment I met him, he was planning things. From the time he was _seven_ years old." The ancient Tenno shade slumped a bit. "His burdens would crush anyone less strong. But even he has limits."

"And he has passed them." Jesse's quiet words were not a question. "He captured the Sentient thrall who served them as a Healer and used Ona and her friends to rebuild him. To program him." Nyx nodded again. "I wasn't there. I shouldn't judge."

"Jesse..." Nyx said quietly. "He agrees that what he did was wrong. He has been looking for a way out of it. But the Tenno needed medical support. They got it. Your plan might work. It's closer than anything else we have come up with." Jesse stared at her and then a slow smile crossed the Cyberlancer's lips. Nyx returned it. "Yes, we have been trying to help him. We are limited though."

"The Balance." Jesse said quietly. Nyx, Honor and Duty all nodded. For a moment, all four women sipped their tea. Lost in thought.

"The Balance." Nyx agreed. "The original idea for the database was not a bad one. It was intended to give grieving people a chance to say goodbye to their loved ones. It was never intended to be permanent. But then... Many of the shades didn't move on. They had no call to, or had business they thought they needed to fulfill. Some had duties that kept them from happiness. Others just wanted to meddle. No matter the reason, we couldn't allow to go back. And it grew."

"I see." Jesse sipped her tea again. "So now?"

"Now Nikis and the other Guardians of the Dead are busy as all get out." Nyx said sadly. "The rest of us who remain have sworn to aid them. To keep the Orokin shades from excess. We cannot destroy them, that is Nikis and the Guardians' role, not ours. We can _scare_ into compliance and if they stray too far, we can summon Nikis or his peers. Which is why they heed us."

"I would too." Jesse said dryly. Honor and Duty both smiled at her. Nyx chuckled and nodded. "So, if we can reprogram the code, let it work for us instead of against us..." She paused. "Why a human? And why so often?"

"Medicine Man is not an AI, Jesse." Nyx said quietly. "It is an artificial _consciousness_. But it lives inside a mortal shell." Jesse froze, her cup halfway to her lips again. Nyx nodded. "It's body was dying."

"And I gave them a location for a new one." Jesse paled.

"No, Jesse." Nyx said gently, reaching out to pat the young Cyberlancer's leg. "We did."

"What?" Jesse demanded. "But... The Balance!" Instead of answering, Nyx looked to the side. Jesse followed her gaze and then went still as a human form appeared in the near distance. She _knew_ this man.

"Mi'ladies." The human that Jesse had only seen unconscious nodded to all four of them.

"Come, John." Nyx waved and Duty rose to prepare another cup. "Join us."

"I..." Jesse swallowed hard and stifled every question that threatened to bubble out. She sat quietly as Duty made the man called John a cup and handed it to him. He took it and sipped it gratefully.

"You have questions." The man -he was _not_ Tenno- said with a nod. "I have few answers. But what I have, I will share if you so wish." Jesse stilled at his tone. He wasn't confused. He wasn't _scared_. He was... She stared from him to Nyx.

"He volunteered, didn't he?" The young Cyberlancer asked softly.

"You always were quick, Jesse." Nyx smiled wider. "What was done to him was a horror, no question. But the criteria that Nikis developed with our help demand that any potential candidates be vetted, be tested and _asked_ whether or not they can do it. They do not remember it consciously, but we _do_ ask. If they say 'no', then we find another." She nodded to the man. "John?"

"It was not what I had hoped to do with my life." John agreed. "But I have no family. Few prospects. I hoped to be a medic, but there are many who also seek that. It gets us out of the mines." Jesse stared at him and John shrugged. "The work is not hard. But it is _boring_. I answered a job application." He chuckled a bit ruefully. "It was bit more thorough than I had assumed it would be."

"Then... you don't need my help." Jesse said weakly. Nyx and John looked at each other. Nyx frowned and then spoke.

"Your idea may actually work, Jesse." Nyx took a sip of her tea and Jesse did the same. "John volunteered to be the next host for Medicine Man. He wouldn't be _gone_. He would be the three hundred and seventh host of the consciousness. All of the people who were selected were trained as medical professionals. If they were not before selection, then we guided them into extra studies. Adding to the knowledge pool. But _your_ idea was brilliant!" Nyx shook her head. "We have tried altering the code before, but none of us dare to get too close." Stood to reason, the shades _were_ computer code. Hard to defend against something designed to subvert code if you were _made_ of it.

"And Nikis could not trust any programmers." Jesse sipped her tea again. "There is danger." She said to Nyx and John who both nodded.

"More than you know." Nyx said sadly. "You are good for Draco. Very good for him. He is...not stable and that is entirely my fault." Jesse froze, her cup halfway to her lips and Nyx nodded. "I failed him."

 **No, you did not.** This was from Honor. The tone was almost exactly like Duty. Stood to reason. They were alike in so many ways.

"Is this my business?" Jesse asked softly.

"He is dedicated to you." Nyx nodded to Jesse. "He doesn't _love_ you, not really. He doesn't know quite what that means when not applied to family." Jesse stared at her and Nyx sighed. "How old did Draco look when he first appeared in your mind?"

"He is Tenno." Jesse said flatly. "Appearance doesn't matter. He can appear any age. The Volt Warframe was a personification of his rage and-" She broke off as Nyx laid a hand on her knee again. "What?"

"Draco wears a Volt Prime warframe." Nyx 's voice was serious now. "And he took it up when he was six." Jesse went still but Nyx wasn't done. "The day I died." Jesse froze, her cup somehow finding the ground beside her as her eyes started to burn. "No one expected him to do it. He was too young. But he was determined." Nyx bowed her head and she was crying now. "He was so angry. So ready to fight and kill. William tried to help, but no one could have stopped Draco from getting what he wanted. A chance to avenge me. He got it."

"That is impossible!" Jesse declared. "A _six year old_? He wouldn't have been able to get into the warframe!"

"Never underestimate the power of rage, Jesse." Nyx said sadly, wiping her eyes. "He shocked everyone. But then, he had the warframe and no one could -or _would_ \- pry him out of it. Our kin helped him as they could, but he was so angry. All the time. I asked for a special dispensation and was granted it. He needed help so I made a way for him to get help." Jesse stared at Nyx and then at the mirror image woman who sat quietly beside her. "Yes, Jesse. Honor and Duty. Legend has garbled the truth of the blades. But _they_ will never forget."

 **We live to serve.** Honor spoke.

 **We serve to live.** Duty replied.

" _Controls_." Jesse swallowed even harder. "When they said that they enslaved _him_..."

"In a way, that is the truth." Nyx said sadly. "He needs the help. He simply cannot control what he is without help. If he is pushed too far, too fast, he loses it." She bowed her head. "You saw it."

"What can I do?" Jesse begged. "He cut me."

"Jesse." Nyx said gently. "The swords cannot kill you. You are not his enemy. If anything, you are an innocent. Use that. Stop him. Save my son. Please!"

Jesse bowed her head.

"I will."

* * *

 **Reality**

The cuts did not hurt. Jesse was in motion even as Riana screamed, the Cyberlancer's nunchaku coming up, batting the swords' edges away from her. She couldn't match Draco strength to strength or skill to skill. She didn't bother to try. She rolled away from the recoiling Volt.

"No." The voice from the Volt was Draco, but it wasn't. It was tiny, that voice. Horrified.

"Draco." Jesse said softly as she swept to her feet. "Look at me." The Volt did not move and Jesse snarled at him "Draco! Look at me! At _me!_ "

"Jesse." Riana's voice was stunned, awed even.

"Stay where you are, Riana." Jesse did not take her eyes from the Volt ahead of her. "Nikis' shade?"

"Alive. Hurt." Riana's voice was shocked. "Jesse, how the _hell_...?"

"What happens here, _remains_ here." Jesse retorted. Then she did something she had never thought to do. "Draco." She _commanded_. " _Look_ at _me!_ "

"I...hurt... you..." The voice wasn't the angry man. It wasn't the stern and stoic bodyguard. This voice was young. Scared.

"No." Jesse replied. "I hurt _myself_. I assumed you could stop your strike. Stupid of me." She said with a sigh. "I am not a Warrior. I am never going to be one." She did not move. "Riana. Keep Olim away. And you see _nothing_." She sheathed her nunchaku and stepped forward, her hands at her sides.

"Jesse!" Riana protested.

"Do _nothing_." Jesse wasn't sure where this commanding aura was coming from. She had a pretty good guess though. "Draco. Please? Look at me." She raised a hand slightly and code swirled from it to surround Draco.

"No." The voice was Draco's but not. Behind her, Jesse heard Riana hiss as the Volt warframe ahead of her vanished in haze of energy and a small boy was standing, staring at her. "Don't!"

"You don't need to be afraid." Jesse said sadly. "My own dumb fault I was hurt. Not yours. I never should have asked for your help." She sighed. "You should have said something. Anything. I would have kept your secrets." She tapped her side where warm wetness was flowing. It still didn't hurt. "I _will_ keep your secrets. By Blood and by Steel, by the First and by the Code, you are Draco. No more. No less. My rock and protector. My shield against the storm. My hero." She took a step forward and knelt. The boy stared frozen as she slowly reached out and embraced him. "I am so stupid. Forgive me, Draco. Please!" She hugged him tight, pulling him close and holding him.

"Jesse." The voice was less small. More Draco. "Oh Jesse." Small arms surrounded her. "You spoke to my mom."

"She loves you." Jesse acknowledged. "I didn't understand. Now I do. Your secrets are safe with me." She glanced at Riana and steel rang in her voice. "And you will _not_ speak of this. To _anyone_."

"I can keep no secrets from Olim." Riana was pale. "Even if I wanted to, I can't. Jesse, please, get away from him."

"He is not _a_ danger!" Jesse snapped. "He is _in_ danger. As he has been all of his life. Not from any outside force. From _himself_." She held Draco as the boy started to shudder. "I thought I knew what anger was. I had no idea."

"Jesse?" Olim's voice preceded the Frost Prime Cyberlancer appearing. "What the-?" In a single, sinuous movement, Jesse stood between the still crying boy and the other two minds. Her nunchaku were in hand and dark blue code swirled around her. "Jesse? What is going on?"

"I can't say." Jesse said in an implacable voice. "I gave my word." She glared at Riana who nodded slowly.

"So did I." Olim retorted, not moving. He knelt beside the fallen Nekros and nodded. "The scripts are running. Now all we can do is see how they work and then debug them."

"Fun, fun." Jesse said, still not moving. A tap on her leg had her freezing in place.

"Your concern touches me in a way I cannot truly comprehend." The not-quite-Draco voice from behind her said quietly. "But if we cannot trust your master to keep his word, who _can_ we trust?"

" _Draco_?" Olim stammered, shocked.

"Sort of." A rush of power came from behind Jesse and then a familiar Volt Prime stepped to her side. "Things got... complicated. But as always, when darkness rises, heroes rise to meet it." He bowed formally to Jesse. "You are still _crazy,_ Jesse."

"Pot meet kettle."


	19. Chapter 19

**Re-orienting**

"And... yet another."

Jesse fixed another bug in the code with a deep and heartfelt sigh. Luckily, both she and Olim had spent extra time checking the scripts that they had created to do as they wished. To alter the Medicine Man's code. Just a little. The actual programming that comprised the being was far, far beyond Jesse's capabilities to understand, but then again, she was better with computers. Not living minds. The good news was that whoever had done the initial changes had been good.

The bad news? If she messed this up, the Medicine Man would be erased from existence. He wouldn't die. He wasn't _alive_. But still... She focused on the code again.

"How is it coming?" Draco asked from where he stood.

It was odd. She had thought to so all of this in a virtual environment. But none of the others wanted to stay. Olim, Riana, Draco. None of them had wanted to stay in the virtual world. She had no idea why. So, she was back in the real world, sitting on the portal platform with Ona, Suno, Maric and the others sitting as far away from them as they enclosure allowed. The tiny warframes were chatting very quietly with the two medical techs. Olim sat just on the other side of the enclosure with Draco just behind him.

"Nothing is ever as perfect as we might want it to be, Draco." Olim's tone held just a touch of wariness. Not that Jesse blamed him. What she had seen in the virtual world had shaken her. Draco was in many ways younger than she was. Just the _thought_ of a six year old going through what he had gave her goosebumps. But Olim was minding his words just as Jesse was. What happened in Jesse's mind, stayed there. Whether it was because he has sworn his word or because he didn't want Draco angry with _him_ , it didn't matter. "Any program will have unintended and unforeseen interactions with anything it touches. That is the nature of computer code. No matter how good we make it, how long we work on it, it _will_ have bugs. Jesse is good." Olim had a smile in his voice now as Jesse blushed a little. "But no one is perfect when it comes to code. Even Riana isn't." He paused and spoke a bit more sharply. "And you _know_ it so stop pouting!" Jesse bit back a grin as he spoke to his partner.

"Riana is good too." Jesse was diffident as she worked. "Her code and yours are things of beauty."

"You will get there, Jesse." Olim sounded kind now. "It just takes practice. You have the- What the?"

Olim and Jesse both went still as the door to the portal room opened and six armed Tenno moved in. Karl led the procession, his Hek shotgun in hand. Jesse stared at him, then at Will, Alicia, Ric, Aeron, Serene and Mori. All had weapons ready. All of them were aimed at Draco! The shrouded Volt Prime did not move. Everything else stopped as the other occupants of the quarantine enclosure all realized what was happening as well.

"Karl?" Olim asked carefully, not moving despite his code flying quicker and quicker. Jesse did not dare to move.

"Iriana was monitoring." Karl replied evenly. Jesse hissed, her code falling to nothing and the Rhino shook his head. "Jesse..."

"She said she wouldn't. She lied." Jesse said slowly. The hurt in her tone had everyone looking at her. "The Healer... lied."

"She has her job." Karl's tone was sad and sick. "She was worried about what might happen with him. Not even Nikis could have scared so many people so quickly."

 _Jesse..._ A voice in her mind almost made her flinch. Almost. _Don't react! He is doing as he must. He is doing the right thing._

 _It's not!_ Jesse retorted angrily, but none of that showed on her face. _Draco is not like that! He is in control!_

 _Is he? I can't know that._ The voice -Jasmina?- was sour now. _**You**_ _may know that. We cannot. Karl is doing what he must. The Elders debated and then they ordered Karl to be gentle if he can. Frankly? Draco is_ _ **not**_ _stable. You know this. They won't harm Draco. They want to- Jesse! Don't!_

Everything stopped as Jesse rose to her feet.

"Just be sure..." Jesse's voice was conversational now but Olim jerked a bit as her code flared. Into a defensive shell. "You want to take Draco."

"Jesse." Karl said quietly. "Jasmina is right. He went berserk and all of his readings say he will do so again."

"Yes, he did. To protect me and Olim from a shade of Nikis' making while we worked. But, you know? We promised him to guard his secrets." Jesse said softly. " _I_ promised him." She turned her head to where the Volt Prime was standing and smiled a bit sadly. "I promised his _mom_." At that, everything seemed to stop. The two warframes that had been edging slowly towards the silent Draco stiffened. "I thought she asked me to protect him from himself and maybe it was. But nothing in my promise said anything about letting _you_ take him, Karl Sensei." Her voice was respectful. But, there was edge to it now. An edge of hurt. Of betrayal. She looked at Olim and the master Cyberlancer would not meet her gaze. Jesse shook her head slowly. "Your clan is loyal."

"We are sharply divided by this, Jesse." Karl replied carefully. "Draco is an excellent guard, maybe the best I have ever seen. But he is a danger to everyone around him."

"That is not _true_!" Jesse snapped. She paused as Draco spoke for the first time since they had returned to their bodies.

"Yes it is, Jesse." Draco's words were calm and focused. "And you know it." His shroud faded and the silver Volt Prime nodded to Karl who returned it.

"So, _what?_ " The youngest Cyberlancer demanded. "Lock you up? Forever? Like _Dust?_ " The vehemence in her words shook the room. The voice in her mind gasped, but did not speak again.

"Jesse." Draco's tone was gentle now. "You do me honor, sister. Your willingness to defend someone like me... touches me in a way that I cannot truly comprehend. I feel sad, sister." All eyes were on him now and he nodded. "I cannot understand emotions. I can feel them. I can act on them. But I cannot understand them. That is beyond me." He bowed his head. "I will not fight Tenno."

"Brother." Karl's voice was gentle now. "We can help."

"No, you can't." Draco replied softly. "Decades, Karl Sensei. Decades worth of the best psychologists in Orokin. Tenno and human alike. My father pushed me into a path that would keep me occupied, keep me focused. My mother made these swords for the same reason." He nodded to his waist, his hands folded in front of him. "You cannot help me. No one can."

"Draco!" Jesse protested, but he continued as if she hadn't spoken.

"What I did, so young, broke me." Draco said with a shrug. "I will never be as I should have been. I avenged my mother. I chose my path and I accept the consequences." He slowly knelt and Jesse inhaled as he slowly drew the shorter of the two blades. Duty. All of the other Tenno aimed, but he did move, simply examined the blade. "Will you deny me my path?" He asked Karl who stared at him.

"No!" Jesse screamed and lunged forward. The quarantine enclosure flexed under her assault, but then several sets of small hands were holding her. "Let _go!_ " She grabbed for her nunchaku and everyone retreated as she spun in place, her sticks whirring.

"Jesse." Draco's voice was flat as he reversed the sword. "Be calm. This is my choice."

"And it is _wrong!_ " Jesse screamed as she lashed out with her nunchaku. The enclosure tore and she stepped through. "You are _not_ beyond redemption! Beyond _saving!_ " Something inside her broke as two of the Tenno -Will and Alicia- aimed weapons at her.

"Will! Alicia!" Karl commanded and both lowered their weapons. The Rhino stepped forward, his shotgun going to his back. "Jesse..." Karl said sadly. "We don't _want_ to do this. Iriana..."

"If I see her, I _will_ hit her." Jesse's growled words actually interrupted the Rhino. "She had no _right_. He is _my_ responsibility! Not _hers_! Not _yours_!"

"Jesse." Karl said gently. "She is protecting her patients. Saving lives. It is what she does. No!" One of the techs had sidled up to Jesse a with a hypo in hand. Jesse lashed out once without even looking and the human fell. He groaned, but lay still. "Jesse!" Karl protested.

"Honor is all well and good when dealing with people who understand it." Jesse said softly. " _I. Gave. Nyx. My. Word._ " Each word was an epithet. Both Will and Karl stiffened at that.

"And if you die trying to keep it?" Draco's words were soft. "What then? Maybe they can bring you back. But it changes you, sister. It always does." Jesse stared at him and then... she smiled. But instead of being relieved, Draco went even more still. "Jesse. No!"

"I am not as honor bound as some." Jesse admitted as her nunchaku spun in her hands. "But if there is one thing I do understand, it is _rules_." Before anyone could move, her nunchaku hung in her hands at an odd angle as the energy chain extended under her mental command and wrapped around her own _neck_. "Maybe you can bring me back from _this_..." Jesse declared as everyone froze in horror. "But maybe _not_. And while taking hostages is cowardly, there _is_ a hostage I _can_ take legally." Herself. All of the newly come Tenno stepped back.

"Jesse." Draco didn't move from where he knelt. "This is not wise."

"No, it isn't." Jesse admitted. "You can outlast me in a warframe. I am sure that at least one of Karl's _minions_..." She made the word an epithet. "...has a stun weapon that will work on me and not let me twist. All they have to do is shoot me. An unarmed, unarmored sister who is not hostile to them." Her grin was vicious as the members of Karl's clan looked at one another. "Or even better. Have Ric freeze me in a Bastille. Then you can do anything you want. All you have to do is use power on someone who _cannot fight back!_ " The bite in her tone had all of the Tenno flinching.

The only Tenno that hadn't move at all, Jesse realized, was Olim. Even the tiny warframes in the enclosure had flinched back, but he hadn't. He was coding, she realized. Coding so fast and furiously that she couldn't follow it without focusing on it. A bad idea at the moment. A single moment of distraction and bad things would happen.

"That is underhanded, Jesse." Karl complained. "Draco needs help."

"And you _cannot_ help him!" Jesse retorted. "None of the psyche techs of _his_ time could. But of course, the ones now are _better_." The irony in her words had fangs.

"I don't know." Karl admitted. "After what happened to Dust and Serene, there were some changes. My clan has been on the forefront in trying to get things to work better. I am no psychetech myself but the docs -Amelia and Brianna- seem pleased with the changes. It is not perfect, but it is better than it was. Jesse. Please." He begged her. "Stand down."

"You cannot help him." Jesse stated. "You will drive him crazy with you trying."

"Jesse." Draco's words held just a hint of dark humor. "I am already crazy."

"But you cope." Jesse replied. "You cope so well." She bowed her head careful of the chain of energy that surrounded her neck. "Locking you up is not a good choice."

"And if it is the _only_ choice?" Draco replied reasonably.

"There are always choices." Suno's voice came from behind Jesse and she turned a little. But the tiny Trinity did not move to her. Indeed, she moved towards Draco. Slowly, steadily. "There are always alternatives, brother."

"Move!" Another voice shouted from the door and Jesse went still as Raven barreled her way into the room. She snarled, taking in the scene. Then she spun to Karl, her face furious. "Having Iriana dose my drink was a bad idea, Karl." The Elder said savagely. "People who try to drug me tend to make me _angry_."

"I..." For his part, Karl was one step from stammering. "I didn't." Raven looked at him and then grunted.

"Maybe you didn't." The Elder retorted. "But you waited until I as semi-conscious to arrive. Or Iriana did." She shook her head. "Jesse." Her eyes were flat as she looked at her ward.

"Elder Raven... I..." Jesse stammered, feeling like an errant schoolgirl. Raven often had that effect on her.

"Be calm, Jesse." Raven relaxed a bit. "We have a quarrel among kin here. Three sides as I see it."

"Two." Draco interjected smoothly. Raven glared at him and he shrugged. "I am unstable. I know it."

"Draco, if you were simply unstable, none of us would have survived the first time any of us made you angry." Raven retorted. Her eyes were flashing, daring him to interrupt her again. He declined. She looked at Jesse who still had the nunchaku's chain wrapped around her neck. Her tone turned rueful. "Ah, Jesse..."

"Elder." Jesse begged. "Draco needs help and I do not know how to do it. But locking him up won't help at all."

"No it won't." Raven agreed quietly. "Being caged is not a good thing for any, let alone Tenno." Jesse froze, her eyes moving to trace the still visible scars on Raven's face. Raven nodded to acknowledge the silent point. She understood about being in a cage and being experimented on. "Draco, Jesse. Stand down. This problem is mine to adjudicate."

"Raven." Karl's tone was flat. "You are involved and wait a minute..." He stiffened. "They said you _abstained_!"

"What they decided was _stupid_." Raven retorted. "They cannot help Draco. But I know someone who _can._ " Jesse felt a surge of hope, but then Raven paused. "Who _might_ be able to anyway."

"Who?" The incredulous question came from several throats.

Instead of answering, Raven moved to Jesse's side and slowly, ever so slowly, reached up to unwind the energy chain from her neck. She clucked a bit and touched Jesse's neck. Jesse hissed as pain came, but Raven shook her head and Jesse remained silent as the Elder gently lowered the girl's hands to her sides. She left the nunchaku there and moved to where Draco knelt. The Volt Prime nodded to her and Duty vanished back into its saya. Raven beckoned and moved to stand by Jesse.

"It may not work." Raven said softly to Jesse who bowed her head.

"Better to try and fail than not to try at all." Jesse replied, quoting from part of the Tenno Code. Raven and Draco both nodded.

"Raven..." Karl said slowly. "Can you help him?"

"I don't know." Raven replied. "But we have to try, Karl. We owe him that at the very least."

"Yes we do." Karl agreed. He nodded to the other warframes and then turned and left. All but Olim and Mori who looked at him. "We have to stay close. Orders, you understand. And _not_ stupid ones." Jesse stiffened in instant rebellion, but Draco reached out to touch her arm.

"Jesse." He admonished her and she slumped a bit. Then she nodded. It made sense. They did _not_ want a mentally unstable Tenno walking around loose. Then he reached up and touched her neck. She hissed and pain traced around her neck. "You need a medic."

"Suno." Jesse's tone was cool. "No one else."

"Jesse." The tiny Trinity stepped to her and sighed as Jesse knelt, still keeping her eyes on Karl. "Silly girl. Energy on bare flesh is _bad_!" She started working. "You are not going to do what I _think_ you are going to do, are you Elder?" She asked Raven.

"Think about it." Raven replied. "What is the single largest font of medical information available on Tenno? What was built to aid Tenno in any medical way imaginable?"

"Elder." Draco actually swallowed. "You want me to submit _myself_... to Nikis' creation?" To put himself in the power of a half Sentient thing?

"Not alone." Raven replied. "And not just that. We have a number of problems here. Ona, Suno and their people have transgressed. _You_ are a mess. And Jesse is being silly."

"Hey!" Jesse protested, but subsided when Suno patted her arm. The Trinity was still working. "Raven, we are not done debugging."

"Then we better get to it." Olim said as he stood. Jesse glanced at him and he gave her a tiny nod. He wasn't going to say anything. "Riana and I will focus on that. You focus on this." Jesse nodded and the Master Cyberlancer seemed to stiffen. Or his attention was far, far away.

"I..." Jesse swallowed hard as Suno nodded to her and rose. "I don't think this is such a good idea."

"You have a better one?" Raven asked, her tone not accusatory or snide. She was actually curious.

"No." Jesse replied uneasily as Suno started to retreat only to freeze as Jesse grabbed her hand. "Suno. Stay. Please."

"Jesse, Iriana did as she thought right." Suno replied. "She was protecting her patients. Of which you _are_ one. She will do anything if she thinks it will save lives."

"I am still not going to trust her again." Jesse said flatly. Then she jerked. Why was Suno suddenly weaving. Or... why was _she?_

"Never trust a healer not to do everything he or she _can_ to save lives." Suno said gently as she caught and held Jesse's right arm. Darkness was crowding onto Jesse's vision, but she wasn't afraid as Draco took hold of her other arm. She knew he wouldn't let her hurt.

"It is what we _do_."


	20. Chapter 20

**In all things, there must be Balance**

Jesse never quite lost consciousness. Whatever Suno had done wasn't enough to knock her out completely. She was calm, but docile which was totally wrong for her. Draco led her back onto the portal platform and held her with Suno as the others joined them there. Raven, Karl, Olim, Mori as well as the others of Ona's small clan who had come with the tiny Nyx.

"I know you will be angry with me, Jesse." Suno said as the portal powered up. "But you were hurting. You seared your flesh badly with the energy of your nunchaku. Second degree burns are no joke. You will not be out completely, we won't do that to you." The tiny Healer promised. Jesse tried to glare at her but could not muster the energy. Suno understood though. She sighed. "I know, Jesse."

"She has a right to her anger." Olim said as he took a space just behind Jesse. "She gave her word and it was violated." His voice did not change inflection, but disapproval sang in it. "So did I."

"Honor is all well and good." Suno retorted, ignoring Karl as she focused on Jesse. "But it has to be moderated with a certain amount of sense."

"No." Karl's one word reply silenced everything for a moment as he stood with Raven whose expression was still thunderous.

"Tenno Karl." Suno pleaded. "If there are only two ways to go, honorable or dead, then eventually everyone is either dishonored or _dead!_ "

"To each their own." Karl retorted. "I do not try and argue healing with Iriana or you. Do _not_ try to argue points of honor with me. What Iriana did was needed. But it was _wrong_." Jesse felt a bit of relief at that. Karl felt as she did, but he was following his orders. She did understand. Just the thought of Draco losing control in a space habitat crowded with non-combatants was enough to make her sick to her stomach. "Jesse may forgive, eventually." The Rhino mused. "She will _not_ forget." He warned.

"I know." Suno slumped as she held Jesse's arm. "She understands us. I gave her enough to keep her calm until we can get her to healing she can trust. The pain she was masking was going to start eating past her control soon. We need to get her back." She glanced at the floor. "Portal?"

"On it." Olim replied and code swept from his hands to touch the floor which started to glow. "Everyone?" He asked. No one moved and he shrugged. "Was just asking."

"I am not leaving Jesse _or_ Draco." Raven declared. "As far as I am concerned, both of them need me." Jesse perked up a bit at that. Raven was going to represent Draco? Elders could do that if they felt the need. Apparently, Raven did. The floor lit up brighter. "That was quick, Olim."

"What the-?" Olim snapped as something happened. "That is not me!" Everyone tensed. Karl and Mori drew weapons as Olim did the same.

 _Jesse._ The voice that touched Jesse's mind was familiar. Jasmina. _We are bringing you all in. Medical support is standing by. Tell Olim not to- Oh crap! What did they_ _ **do**_ _to you?_

 _Jas- Jasmina..._ Jesse managed to grate the words out in her mind. _Lied. Drugged._

 _No._ Jasmina's mental tone was sick now. _Jesse, no one lied to you. Iriana did not spread the news around. She was worried. About_ _ **you**_ _._

 _ **I gave my**_ _ **word**_ _ **!**_ Jesse screamed past the numbness in her mind. _**By Blood and by Steel! I gave my word and you**_ _ **broke**_ _ **it!**_

 _You...?_ The Caretaker's mental voice broke off for a moment. Then she sighed. _I see._ When next she spoke, it was louder. From their suddenly intent postures, everyone heard her. _We are bringing you to the Citadel. Jesse needs help._

"A little warning would not have been amiss, Jasmina." Olim replied as his code faded. "Why is it taking so long?"

 _Sorry for not consulting you. We have been moving very quickly._ Jasmina replied. _Iriana is trying to stop the transit. She thinks she can heal this. No one knew that Jesse swore by Blood and Steel._ Tenno did not swear such oaths lightly or often. When they did, a _planet_ would move before most Tenno would. _Iriana did not know._

 _If I see her...!_ Jesse snapped out, only to slump as Suno did something.

"Jesse." Suno warned. "I _will_ put you out completely if you do not calm down. You _are_ hurting. You just do not feel it at the moment." Jesse turned to look at Draco but he shook his head, acknowledging the tiny Healer's words. "I know you are angry. You have cause. But please, Jesse." Suno begged. "Calm down."

A golden glow rose from the floor, stilling all on the platform into immobility. As always, it seemed to last forever, but Jesse knew it was only milliseconds before the flash took hold and pulled them through time and space. To her numbed mind, it was beautiful, the transit. She and the others seemed to be moving along a golden tunnel. The walls crawled with code that she could not -quite- make out. But it was all... so...

"Help!" Suno called as the golden glow faded. "She has second degree burns on her neck and I had to give her something. I don't know if she is all here, but she was _looking_ at the Orokin code!"

Things happened fast. One moment, Jesse was standing between Draco and Suno, the next she was on the floor. Suno and a Volt she recognized as roger -the doc at the Citadel- were kneeling beside her. Olim stood just a little apart from them.

"Jesse." Olim's voice was soft, kind. But underneath it lay worry. "Let it go."

"Beautiful." Jesse murmured as Roger and Suno worked. "It was so beautiful. I... I need to see it again."

"Jesse!" Olim snapped. "You have to let it go! It was _designed_ to be entrancing! To pull people in when they used machinery. But not _our_ kind! I know Trinity told you. _Shield_ girl! _Now_!"

"I..." Jesse swallowed hard and focused her mind as she had been taught. It was hard. Something was singing in her mind. She shied away from that instinctively and focused on her shields. As she finished the last barrier, the singing faded. "I... Oh dear. That was too close..." She swallowed hard.

Trinity had told her stories about Tenno who had been entranced by Orokin machinery. Very few of them had ended well. Only a fool knowingly tried to enslave Tenno. But the Orokin machinery wasn't designed to know the difference between humans and Tenno. Humans could use it with no problem. Tenno? Their energy would drain to the point that they could not recover.

"I am sorry, Jesse." Suno was crying. "I had to keep your pain from overwhelming your code."

"Not your fault, Suno." Jesse reached out with a slow hand to take the small Trinity's. She gave it a squeeze. "Not your fault. Draco...?" She pleaded as she focused. The Volt kneeling beside her did something and she felt better. It stood to reason that the Citadel would know what to do with Tenno who were exposed to such energies. "I am better."

"Stop scaring us, Jesse." Draco said evenly.

"I will do my best." Jesse relaxed as whatever the docs were doing worked it's magic through her. "I didn't know how badly I was burned." She checked herself and found her wounds healing. She had never even sensed them before. "Wow. That was... bad. Wasn't it?" Suno made a sour noise.

"You never felt it through your code." Roger's voice was clinical, distant. "You should rest for a time."

"We need to end this." Jesse said savagely. "I am not going to _break!_ " Her tone was sharp as Suno and Roger looked at one another.

"Not for lack of _trying_." The Volt doctor's voice was sour as he rose to his feet. "Can you sit up?" Jesse focused herself and sat up slowly. Suno's hand on her arm wasn't needed, but Jesse appreciated it. Roger shook his head a little. "Take it slow, Jesse. The music has faded, but it isn't _gone_." Jesse gulped and Roger nodded. "A couple of days and it will be. Don't focus on it if it comes back. And _tell_ someone if you hear the music."

"I will." Jesse promised. "Thank you." Roger patted her arm and like a flash, he was gone. She looked at the group surrounding her and let out a deep sigh of regret. "I am sorry."

"Not your fault, Jesse." Raven stood beside Karl and her face was remote. "But you will need to focus on keeping your shields up. That means Olim and Riana will handle whatever coding has to be done." Jesse stiffened in instant rebellion, but subsided as Raven waged a finger at her. "You will let them do it."

"I will." Jesse bowed her head to accept the command. "We need to get to..." She gave an eep as Olim bent down and scooped her up into his arms. "Olim! Put me down!" She smirked. "People will talk!"

"Let them." Olim said with a sigh. "They are going to anyway. Might as well go full bore. Jasmina is waiting for us at Nikis' quarters. With him." Jesse jerked, she stared around, but realized that the unconscious human who had been on the platform was nowhere to be seen. She stared up at Olim's closed faceplate and Olim nodded. "We can't be sure until we have done full checks, but preliminary sweeps show the code has integrated properly."

"Don't take any chances." Jesse pleaded.

"I won't." Olim said as he started off. The others followed in silence. "One thing, Jesse. You will not be involved." Jesse stared at the Frost Prime and then she slumped a bit. "It is nothing against you, Jesse." He reassured her.

"If it turns hostile, I cannot defend myself except with code." Jesse said sadly. "I know. I will just... will fret."

"No, you won't." Draco replied. Jesse turned to look at him and he shook his head. "You will be busy."

"Doing _what?_ " Jesse demanded. "Worrying about you?"

"No." A new voice sounded as they approached a cross corridor. Jesse turned her head to see an Ember Prime warframe standing there. "I will take her, Olim." Draco looked at Jasmina who bowed to him. "And I - _we_ \- will ward her."

"I will hold you to that, caretaker." Draco replied. He laid a hand on Jesse's arm as Jesse hissed in fear and worry. "Your concern for me touches me greatly, Tenno Jesse. For the first time in a long time, I wish I could understand emotion."

"You do." Jesse protested. "You love. You hate. You fear. You _feel_." Draco sighed.

"Jesse." The silver Volt Prime said quietly. "Yes, I feel. But I do not understand _what_ I feel or why. It doesn't make any sense to me. It never did. I learned to cope. Nothing more." Jesse felt her eyes start to burn as Jasmina took her from Olim. Draco moved to stand next to her. Jesse did not miss Karl and Mori both tensing. But Draco just took her hand and pulled it to his closed facemask. "No matter what happens, Sister Jesse, be true to the Code."

"I will." Jesse promised. She gasped as Draco's faceplate retracted. His face inside was ageless. He kissed her hand and then he was gone. Karl, Mori and Olim were gone with him. "I... I..." Jesse stammered.

"He doesn't love you, Jesse." Raven said quietly. Jesse nodded, tears starting to fall. "Oh girl. I know." Then she turned to Jasmina. "Be gentle." This was a command. "Suno. Ona. With me. We have a _lot_ to discuss."

A wealth of disapproval sounded in the Elder's voice. Then again, they _had_ incapacitated her to kidnap Jesse from under her nose. Suno and Ona both stiffened, but then bowed to the Elder. Raven walked away, the others following her. That left Jesse lying in Jasmina's arms, trying to curb her tears.

 _Easy, Jesse._ Jasmina's voice came into Jesse's mind. A mix of sad, of proud, of resigned. And something else. Something that Jesse couldn't quite put her finger on. _It isn't your fault._

"How can you talk to me like that? I thought the telepathy was a one-time thing." Jesse asked as Jasmina started off. "And where are we going?"

 _ **Your**_ _telepathy was._ The Ember Prime has a smirk in her mental voice now. _But if we wish, we can talk to anyone. We rarely wish to._ _It leaves us vulnerable._ Jesse stiffened as she understood the trust that the Caretaker was showing her.

"So... why now?" Jesse asked as Jasmina turned to a door ahead that was blinking green.

 _Because this is a private conversation._ Jasmina said with a sigh as the door hissed open. The room beyond was empty. But... Jesse stiffened anew as she felt something. Something changed and another form appeared from a doorway. Apparently the doorway to a washroom. Jesse's eyes went huge as the female Tenno moved to a chair and sat. She wasn't wearing anything under her robe, that was abundantly clear from how she walked. _Elenia and I drew straws. She won._

"You...were going to say 'No'." Jesse said as Jasmina laid her on the bed.

"We were." The Caretaker known as Elenia smiled at Jesse's expression as Jasmina retreated to the door. "We didn't think it was appropriate. You are Janet's daughter and a new sister." The door hissed shut as Jasmina left the room. Elenia did not move from her chair. "We changed our minds. We can do that."

"Why?" Jesse asked, not daring to move.

"Because first, you were right. A girl's first time should be special." Elenia had a fond smile on her face now. "And second? You need to be distracted for a bit. Trust me. You _will_ be." Her smiled turned wicked.

"I don't know what to say." Jesse said weakly.

"Nothing may come of this, Jesse. My way and Jasmina's way is not yours." Elenia still hadn't moved. "You do not know what you want. You have no frames of reference besides whatever bootleg holos you may have seen." Jesse could not control a blush and Elenia smiled wider. "Ah, figured. They don't measure up." Jesse just looked at her and Elenia chuckled. "Okay, bad pun."

"Ya _think_?" Jesse felt a grin start on her face. She didn't try to stop it very hard.

"Jesse, you are young. You have time." Elenia rose from her chair and walked to the bed where she sat, out of reach. "I can make your first time special. But in the end, it is _your_ choice. If you encounter anything that is _not_ your choice, it can and _will_ warp you for the rest of your life. Lis is _never_ going to forget what happened to her. She will get over it, eventually. She is tough. But forget? She can't."

"Sister Harriet cannot either." Jesse said weakly. "I... is it wrong that I am afraid?" Elenia shook her head.

"This is new." Elenia stretched out a hand to touch Jesse's. Jesse fought to keep it from trembling, but Elenia did nothing more. "The unknown is always scary."

"But the way to conquer that..." Jesse said with a smile. "Is to explore. To see. To understand." Elenia nodded. "What do I do?" She asked as she took the Caretaker's hand in her own.

"Relax." Elenia said she cradled Jesse's hand to her chest. "If anything bothers you at all, at any time, say so. You know that your body is out of whack. We need to balance it. We can and will." Jesse nodded a bit dubiously and Elenia smiled even wider as her free hand went...somewhere else.

"I think we can make this a night to _remember_."

* * *

 **Not so nearby**

Raven sighed as she sat in one of the communal halls of the Citadel. Ona and her small group of miniature Tenno stood and Raven waved irritably at them.

"Sit." The Elder commanded. The others obeyed and she continued. "I understand why you did what you did. Saving Jesse was paramount. But you assaulted me. You put _her_ in worse danger. If you had asked, we would have helped."

"I know." Ona's voice was abject now. "We didn't think that it would be hard or take as long as it did."

"And you think like _Nikis_." Raven gave a long suffering sigh. " _His_ idea of communication is to _shoot_ something." No one of the others would meet her gaze and she sighed again. Her voice hardened. "Enough. You made a mistake. You angered me and others. You are not alone Ona, Suno, everyone. You are not alone anymore. You don't _have_ to be alone anymore." Now they were all staring at her. She rose from her chair and knelt in front of them. "You have been out of balance for so long. You think that is the only way to be. It _isn't_."

"But..." Maric -the tiny Frost's voice was stunned. "We are different."

"So?" Raven demanded caustically. "I am not the same as Karl. Neither of us is the same as Olim, or Riana." She paused. "Thank _god!_ " She said fervently and the other chuckled a bit. "One of her is more than enough at times." She held out her arms slowly. "You are not alone. Not anymore. Your balance must be restored. I am Raven."

"I..." Ona swallowed hard, but Suno rose and stepped forward.

"Raven, I greet you." Suno was crying as she knelt in front of the elder. "I greet you." Raven pulled her into an embrace as the others swarmed in, most of them crying as Raven was.

* * *

 **Outside of time and space**

"Well..." The disembodied voice sounded pleased. " _That_ went better than expected."

"Do you have _any_ idea what Draco is going to do when he wakes up?" The second voice was familiar. Nikis was somewhere between amused and sad.

"Nope." The first voice replied. "None of us do. Hence why Karl, Mori and Olim will not let him out of their sight until he is vetted by the shrinks. Can't really blame them."

"Should we tell them?" Another voice -female- sounded. Janet was worried.

"We cannot hold their hands, Janet." Nikis sounded sad and sick now. "Never ends well when people do that. They have to figure it out on their own. What I did - _we did_ \- was wrong and evil."

"It was needed, my friend." The first voice said gently. "The cost to you, to us, to _everyone_ , was dear. But now? We have a chance to end this to actually end this half existence once and for all. The means may finally exist."

" _If_ Draco is _sane_ when he comes out of that thing." Janet replied, her tone still worried. "Jesse will help. If she doesn't turn into a closet nymphomaniac that is." She said sourly. But her tone held amusement too.

" _Draco_?" Nikis laughed. " _Sane_? Oh Janet. You told a _funny_!"

"Shut up, you old faker." Janet replied with a snarl that was halfhearted. "You are hoping just as the rest of us are."

"Could use a rest." Nikis replied offhand by way of agreement. "The Balance has lasted for far longer than any of us dreamed. But as in all things, nothing is forever."

"In all things, there must be _Balance_." The first voice said quietly. "And the balance between life and death has been unbalanced for far too long. It is time. And _more_ than time."

"Yes, First One." Janet and Nikis both said quietly.

"Time to shut down the database."


End file.
